


Sweet Retribution

by SPowell



Category: Merlin - Fandom
Genre: Age Difference, Domination, Humiliation, M/M, Manipulation, Piercing, Plugging, Restraints, Spanking, Submission, Voyeurism, bottom!Arthur, dub-con, younger!Arthur
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-13
Updated: 2012-12-30
Packaged: 2017-11-21 02:02:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 30,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/592206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SPowell/pseuds/SPowell
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Originally begun on kinkme_merlin, I've cleaned this up and continued it here.<br/>Merlin hates the wealthy. A perfect opportunity to purge himself of his feelings of helplessness against them comes in the form of the young Arthur Pendragon.</p><p>Disclaimer: I make no profit from this endeavor. The characters belong to BBC and Shine, along with legend.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> The prompt on kink_me merlin was for a Harlequin-esque story--essentially that Merlin offers to help Uther out business-wise in return for his son in bed.
> 
>  
> 
> I do my best, but I'm sure it's painfully obvious I'm not British. If you are easily put off, you may want to stop reading now. I'm not going to do something glaring like set them all down at the Thanksgiving table, but I'm also not aware of small British customs and not likely to always go with British spellings. However, if you love the characters as I do, want a good read, and are willing to put up with me, read on!

Merlin had come prepared to turn Uther Pendragon down. He’d weighed his options and decided to sell his hot, new video game, _Wizard_ , to an online gaming company with a younger, hipper CEO than that of Pendragon Enterprises, which didn’t even specialize in online games.   
  
Sometimes Merlin still had to remind himself he was no longer the geeky, gangly gamer kid, the butt of all the footie lads’ pranks; rather he was the much sought after twenty-six-year-old creator of _Wizard_ —the cutting edge computer game that had driven the likes of Uther Pendragon to wine, dine, and virtually beg Merlin to sell it to him. Many wanted to buy _Wizard_ , but Uther seemed especially eager, going to great lengths to persuade the young inventor. A little late-night hacking divulged the reason why: Uther had made several bad investments and was in danger of losing his company. This had strengthened Merlin’s resolve to turn Uther’s most recent, and likely final, offer down.  
  
Then Arthur Pendragon showed up.  
  
Arthur was blond, blue-eyed, and spoiled rotten, exactly the type Merlin loathed from his not so distant days of high school when kids like Arthur made Merlin miserable on a daily basis. While Merlin and others like him struggled just to survive, types like Arthur had looks, money, prestige, and an overblown sense of entitlement.   
  
Merlin badly wanted to have the upper hand over someone like that.  
  
When Arthur gave Merlin an inquiring glance before leaving the room, Merlin raised the corner of his upper lip in a subtle sneer, watching Arthur’s aristocratic mouth turn down in answer. There was no doubt in Merlin’s mind that the young Pendragon thought himself above Merlin. After watching him go, Merlin looked to Uther, his mind made up.  
  
“I must say, Uther, I came here ready to decline your offer.”  
  
Lines appeared around Uther’s mouth, but otherwise his expression didn’t change.  
  
“And now?” he asked.  
  
“Now,” Merlin said slowly, walking to the window to watch Arthur stride purposefully across the perfectly manicured lawn of the Pendragon mansion to where a black Jaguar occupied by a petite blonde waited in the circular driveway, “now I have realized there is one thing that would make me sell you the rights to _Wizard_.” He watched Arthur slide into the car beside the woman, and a smile spread across Merlin’s face.  
  
“And what’s that?” Uther asked.  
  
Merlin knew how very desperate the situation was for Uther. And he knew that Uther knew he knew. Without turning around, Merlin replied, “Your son, Uther. I want your son.”  
  
Silence filled the room. When Uther finally spoke, his voice was hoarse, but controlled. “Arthur? What do you want with him? He has no business sense; he’s all about football, fencing, and females. He’s a trainer at a local gym, for God’s sake.”  
  
Merlin turned around then, looking Uther straight in the eye. “I want him to come live with me. I want him for my bed.”  
  
Merlin waited. When Uther didn’t immediately reply, he asked, “To what lengths would you go to save your company? Your last offer has already been topped by another, and if I hadn’t seen your son, I wouldn’t be standing here negotiating with you.”  
  
Uther’s mouth flattened to a thin line, and his eyes narrowed. “Done,” he said, extending a hand to shake Merlin’s.  
  
“Excellent,” Merlin grinned. “I’ll have a contract drawn up.”

~~O~~

It took a month to get the contract the way Merlin wanted it. He insisted that both he and Arthur be tested for HIV and all other std’s, and have written documentation that they were both clean. The wait had the benefit of turning Uther Pendragon into a caged lion—-pacing and practically frothing at the mouth, so eager was he to get his hands on _Wizard_ —-and promising Merlin the moon in return. By the time negotiations were finished, Merlin had full control of Arthur for the next six months of his life.  
  
The day they met with their lawyers dawned overcast and gloomy, perfect for Merlin’s dour mood as he watched the overly-confident Uther Pendragon bend to sign the contract before motioning for his son to do the same. Arthur put pen to paper, meeting Merlin’s eyes without flinching; one would think he signed his life and body away every day of the week. His antagonism only annoyed Merlin, making him even more resentful of the Pendragons and those like them who were born into wealth and power. But as Arthur looked down at the contract, penning his name with a flourish, Merlin’s shrewd eye caught the belying flutter of Arthur’s pulse at his neck, and Merlin’s own heart sped up.

The boy was nervous!  
  
Merlin and Uther shook hands, and their accountants verified the transfer of funds. Merlin caught Arthur’s arm before he walked out the door. “Five o’clock on the dot. You have the address?” Arthur nodded. “Do you still have your school uniforms?”   
  
Arthur’s blue eyes were cool and wary. “Yes…”  
  
“Good. Bring them. I’ll supply everything else.” Merlin left him standing there.  
  
As he maneuvered his Beamer through early morning London traffic, Merlin wondered what kind of father rented his son out for a business deal. It was unconscionable, but Merlin supposed what Merlin was doing was equally so. If Uther Pendragon was willing to meet Merlin’s terms, why should Merlin care? Annoyed with himself, he turned his thoughts to the reasons he was going through with this.  
  
First and foremost was the deep-seated hurt his father, Balinor Emrys—a very wealthy gentlemen, had left him with. Balinor had courted Merlin’s mother, got her pregnant with Merlin and a twin who died at birth, and then broke her heart by leaving her destitute and alone a year later. She’d never gotten over it, even to her death years later.   
  
Second was what had happened to his best mate Will’s father. A rich merchant tricked him into selling his tobacco shop for a quarter of what it was worth so he could turn around and sell the land to a huge corporation that wanted to build a shopping mall. Will’s family had to break up in order to survive, and Will’s father died of a stroke soon after.   
  
As if these things weren’t enough to make Merlin hate the upper class, there was the third and final blow: Merlin’s first love, the beautiful son of a millionaire. Merlin had thought Jonathan had loved him and had given him his body only to find out Jonathan had only dated Merlin on a bet to entertain his rich, privileged footie mates. He’d taken pictures of their intimate night together and circulated them all over school, humiliating Merlin.  
  
A small part of Merlin’s brain reminded him: Arthur Pendragon isn’t Jonathan. He’s not the one who hurt you. But Merlin pushed that away, telling himself they were all the same anyway, these self-indulging, wealthy types. Arthur Pendragon looked enough like Jonathan Hastings to be his brother, and although Jonathan had moved away long ago, Arthur Pendragon was there. If he hadn’t actually hurt Merlin, he’d most likely hurt someone else at one time or another.

  
Merlin had a list of errands to run before returning to his flat to wait for Arthur. If Arthur was late, Merlin would punish him.  
  
He almost hoped he would be late.  
  
But Arthur arrived promptly, several hangers full of uniforms in his hands. Merlin took them out of their cleaner’s bags and inspected them. Dark slacks and jackets, white button-down shirts, crimson ties—heralds of the posh, elite boarding school from which Arthur had recently graduated. (Uther had bragged of that to Merlin on more than one occasion.) Very nice. A leather bag that Arthur set down in the foyer contained shiny black loafers and black socks.  
  
“This is all you will ever wear when you’re with me,” Merlin told Arthur. If I ever want you to wear anything else, I will provide it for you.” He stared at Arthur’s young face, so aristocratically handsome that Merlin badly wanted to wipe the arrogant look off of it. What right did he have to be smug? His father had virtually sold him into sex slavery!  
  
“Did you read the contract over carefully before you signed it?” Merlin asked him.  
  
Arthur nodded.  
  
Merlin frowned. The whole thing nagged at him—that it had all been this easy. “I have to know…why did you agree to sign? You’re of age…nineteen, right?”  
  
Arthur nodded again, his eyes cloudy, and Merlin wished that the boy was easier to read. Still, the way Arthur defiantly held his chin up drove Merlin mad. He wanted to touch him, to punish him, but there was plenty of time for that.  
  
“Your father has sold you to me for the next six months to do with as I like, and you’ve agreed to it. Why?” Merlin asked harshly.  
  
Arthur licked his lips, hesitating. He met Merlin’s eyes, his own defiant.  
  
“He’s my father,” he said simply. “He needed me to do this. He asked it of me.”  
  
Merlin sighed, something stirring deep within him. Clenching his teeth, he turned away. “You’ll find a very nice bathroom down the hall on the left. Go shower and put on the robe that’s hanging on the back of the door. Then come back in here—there’s something to be done before this goes any further.”  
  
Arthur cast his eyes down and strode away toward the bathroom. Merlin picked up his cell and made a call.  
  
“You can come up now,” he said before hanging up. 

 


	2. Initiation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Having posted these in segments on kink_me, I hope the frequent switching of viewpoints doesn't make it difficult to read here.

Arthur took his time in the bathroom, trying to get his nerves under control. That sick fuck, Merlin, had taken advantage of Arthur’s father. Arthur knew that the future of Pendragon Enterprises depended on the purchase of this Wizard game, and that Merlin Emrys had made a deal with Uther in order to indulge his sick fantasies.

When Uther had called Arthur into his study to tell him about Merlin’s offer, he’d made it clear that he did not expect Arthur to do it. He really just wanted Arthur to know that these kind of things sometimes happened in the business world. A lesson, so to speak. But after hearing about it, how could Arthur not do the one thing that would save his family’s company? Wasn’t it bad enough that Arthur hadn’t the business sense to run Pendragon Enterprises and that it was all going to go to his cousin Mordred after his father died? Arthur had almost welcomed the opportunity to do this for his father.

So now he found himself a virtual prisoner for the next six months. Luckily for him, his father had insisted on a month of negotiations and health screening—a stipulation that Pendragon Enterprises could hardly afford to wait for in their current situation, but which Uther had refused to sign the contract without.

Arthur sighed, drying off his nude body with the obscenely plush towel that had been provided for him. His skin smelled of the rich, almond soap that he’d used in the shower, and his hair of the vanilla bean shampoo. Hanging up the towel, he reached behind the door and grabbed the cobalt blue silk robe. He slipped it on, enjoying the feel of the cool material against his naked skin. As he belted it, he noticed that a large gold A was embroidered on the right side of the chest portion.

He wondered if this Merlin fellow would want to have sex with him immediately. Arthur had tried not to think about it; he’d never had sex with a man before, although the thought of it secretly intrigued him. He’d never been particularly happy with women. He’d been with plenty of them, though. They tended to flock to his side, and he mostly just wanted to make them happy. Arthur looked into the large mirror over the double sinks. He looked good, he knew. He always looked good. He wasn’t being conceited—it was just a fact of life that Arthur had grown up with. People liked the way he looked. But the question was, did people like the person inside the nice body? That, Arthur wasn’t sure of at all.  
When Arthur stepped into the living area, Merlin stood waiting for him, arms crossed over his chest. Next to Merlin stood an old man with long, gray hair and a septum piercing. The man wore a flowing red tunic and baggy beige slacks, and he was busily going through the contents of a worn leather satchel.

“Arthur, this is Gaius,” Merlin told him. “He will be doing your scrotum piercing.”

Arthur stopped mid-way into the room. “My what?”

Merlin smiled thinly. “Your scrotum piercing. It’s the first thing that I require.”

Arthur felt all the blood rush out of his face, and the next thing he knew, Merlin had hold of his arm and had nudged him onto the sofa. “Just lean your head back and close your eyes,” he told Arthur, not ungently. Arthur did as he was told. He never liked needles, and the thought of having one pierce the skin of his sensitive balls sack made him sick to his stomach. It wasn’t like he could refuse, either. Squeezing his eyes shut and clenching his fists at his sides, Arthur felt the robe opening, and heard someone’s (Merlin’s?) indrawn breath. The next thing he knew, there was a pinch, then a slight pull, and the old man pronounced it finished.

Arthur opened his eyes and looked down to where his genitals lay on the couch, his penis pushed to the side. Just underneath, a diamond encrusted letter M pierced through his skin. “Oh, my God,” he moaned before promptly passing out.  
Merlin showed Gaius out, then stared at the young man slouching on his couch, legs sagging apart. Dragging his eyes away from Arthur’s, God, beautiful genitals, Merlin took a minute to gaze at his features. Sharp jawline, aristocratic nose, red lips parted, lashes curled upon still pale cheeks, blond hair falling into eyes Merlin knew to be the deepest blue, Arthur Pendragon was a living wet dream. 

Merlin felt a pang of remorse for having put the kid through this, but at the same time, he couldn’t help being impressed by him. Merlin had expected Arthur to, at the very least, object to the piercing, especially after he realized Arthur was afraid of needles. Merlin’s best mate Will was also afraid of them, and Merlin had seen him literally run away from the prospect of having one touch his skin, much less pierce through it.

Eyes travelling back down Arthur’s body over defined abs, lingering a moment on the blond trail of hair leading to a slightly darker tangle beneath, and coming to rest on the finely cut cock that lay long and limp against a muscled thigh, Merlin took a shaky breath, unconsciously licking his lips before allowing his gaze to move farther downward to the heavy sac with the small letter M pierced through the top of its seam.

Absolutely. Bloody. Gorgeous.

Turning, Merlin headed for the bathroom, returning with a wet flannel, which he gently applied to Arthur’s face. After a moment, Arthur’s eyes fluttered open, and Merlin took a step back. “Dinner will be in an hour,” he told Arthur. “You can go to the large bedroom at the end of the hall and take a rest.” He strode away toward the kitchen, leaving Arthur blinking after him.  
Arthur wondered what kind of filthy reprobate Merlin Emrys was to want to pierce Arthur’s privates with his initial. He lay on the huge, luxurious bed thinking about it until he felt nauseous again and couldn’t anymore. The piercing stung, but was otherwise not uncomfortable. He could pretend it wasn’t there.

Eyes roving over the room, he took in the antique furnishings, a little surprised by their presence in the otherwise modernly posh penthouse. Merlyn Emrys was a bit of a mystery. He couldn’t be very old…certainly no more than ten years Arthur’s senior, if that…but he was already the inventor of an ingenious online game and well on his way to being a millionaire. Arthur, being more of a thinker in the humanities department rather than science and technology, had to respect that. He had no idea what Emrys’s beginnings were, but suspected he came from a bit of money, since he seemed comfortable with all the opulence Arthur had seen since he’d arrived. Of course, Arthur didn’t really care too much about Merlin’s past. Arthur was there for his father and the company, and he would do what he had to do. The fact that it fed his long-time hidden sexual preference was the only plus in the situation, but not knowing exactly what Merlin would require of him was nerve-racking.

Arthur decided he would ask him over dinner. After all, didn’t Arthur have the right to know?

As it happened, Merlin beat him to the punch. 

“Have you had any experience sexually with men, Arthur?” he asked as they ate steak, salad, and baked potato at the dining room table. To their right, the city of London spread out before them on the other side of wide, glassed-in windows.

“No, I haven’t,” Arthur replied honestly.

“Does the thought repulse you?” Merlin asked, his large, clear blue eyes watching him thoughtfully.

Arthur considered before answering. He decided to go for honesty. “No. It doesn’t repulse me to think of being with a man sexually.”

Merlin seemed surprised. There was something else in his expression Arthur couldn’t read. Could it be disappointment? Satisfaction, warm and heady filled Arthur. If part of Merlin’s kink was to force himself on a straight, homophobic schoolboy, he was in for a letdown. 

Merlin recovered quickly. “Tomorrow night we’ll be dining out. You’ll wear your school uniform, along with a few other…appliances.” He smiled around his next bite. “How’s your piercing, by the way? Does it sting?”

“A little,” Arthur shrugged, refusing to appear discomfited by either Merlin’s mention of “appliances” or the act of the piercing.

“Be sure to wash it daily with anti-bacterial soap. It will be a few weeks before it can be played with. We don’t want an infection to set in.” He took a sip of wine. “I have a piercing, too. You’ll see it soon." 

Arthur felt himself hardening at the thought of Merlin 'playing' with his piercing, and also of Merlin having one himself. He surreptitiously squeezed his dick under the pretense of adjusting the napkin in his lap. He wondered if Merlin’s piercing was just like his, or …different. The thought took his breath away and filled his head with a hum that caused him to miss the next thing Merlin said.  
Merlin watched Arthur’s face. Despite the fact that he claimed to be okay with having sex with a man, his cheeks had flushed, and he no longer appeared to be listening. Merlin suspected Arthur wasn’t as comfortable with the idea as he’d said. Other than the swoon over the needle, bravado seemed to be Arthur’s armor of choice.

“The bed you rested on is mine. Tonight you can sleep across the hall in the smaller bedroom. There’s a television in there, along with a small refrigerator stocked with drinks and snacks and a private bath. I won’t require you again this evening.” Merlin wiped his mouth and stood up. “Should you need anything, there’s an intercom in your room. We’re the only two here…I don’t like the idea of servants. There are pyjamas in the dresser drawer, and you’ll find the bathroom stocked with everything you need. Goodnight, Arthur.”

Merlin strode down the hall and went into his room, turning to close the door. Toeing off his shoes, he threw himself down on the bed, reaching for his cell phone in his pocket. He dialed Will’s number and got his voicemail.

“Hey, mate. Just wondering what you’re up to. Haven’t talked to you in a while, and I miss you. Call me.”

Merlin tossed the phone aside and lay staring at the ceiling for a long time before rising to get ready for bed.

***  
Arthur watched Merlin’s lithe form disappear around the corner and turned back to his food with a small sigh. It seemed he wouldn’t be required to do anything that evening, and he was relieved. He had no idea what he’d gotten himself into with this contract. He had indeed read it over before signing it, although there was bloody little he would have refused to do if it meant saving his father’s company. Basically, Arthur was Merlin’s to do with as he wished. He had a right to refuse anything that could threaten his life, but other than that…

Arthur had told his best mate, Leon, that he was going abroad for six months on a lengthy holiday. Leon had recently married Arthur’s cousin, Morgana, and they were so deep in their newly wedded bliss, they were unlikely to miss him much. Besides, Arthur was pretty much a loner, except for what he put on for his father’s sake, which mostly included dating various socialites and occasionally posing for the press and showing up at occasional board meetings. Most of his time Arthur spent at Lance’s gym as a trainer, something Arthur enjoyed immensely. Lance was less understanding about Arthur’s long sabbatical, but he’d promised to keep his job waiting for him.

Arthur wondered if Merlin would expect him to spend his days dressed in a G-string serving him Bloody Marys and occasionally sucking him off. The thought made Arthur hard, in spite of himself. He only hoped Merlin wouldn’t invite friends over to pinch his arse and watch. 

Rinsing his plate, he retired for the night.  
***

Arthur found Merlin gone the following morning when he woke up, a note left for him in the kitchen saying that Merlin had things to do, but Arthur should be ready for dinner by six. Bored and restless, Arthur wandered about the penthouse, finally deciding to spend a few hours in the weight room before showering and settling down to watch some movies on Merlin’s wide-screen telly.

He fixed himself some lunch and called his father, but Uther was in meetings and couldn’t be disturbed. He perused a shelf of books before settling on War and Peace. A couple of chapters into that, Arthur fell asleep, waking up close to 5:30. With a sigh, he got up and went to change into one of his school uniforms.

He felt rather silly—like he was going to a class or something. Arthur had been out of school for a year, and had even taken a couple of semesters of classes at uni, but being back in the old uniform immediately made him feel sixteen again. He heard the door open and came out to find Merlin depositing his keys on the side table. Turning and seeing Arthur standing there in his uniform, Merlin gave him a curt nod. 

“I’m going to shower and change, and I’ll be right with you.”

Arthur found himself again waiting around with nothing to do. He finally sat down with his book until Merlin appeared, freshly showered and dressed in an expensive grey suit with a white shirt and a blue tie that matched his eyes. With Merlin’s dark hair, pale skin, and pretty mouth, Arthur found the other man quite attractive indeed. He closed his book and stood.

Merlin opened a drawer. “We’ll be leaving momentarily. Pull down your pants and bend over the dining room table.”

Arthur froze. He hadn’t expected that. His mouth dry, he warily turned and walked into the dining room. He took a deep breath, and, hands shaking, unfastened and lowered his dark pants and white boxers, bending himself over the high table and staring out the wide window at the London evening.

Cool air caressed Arthur’s rear as he waited, and he wondered what was taking so bloody long. What was Merlin doing? Putting on a condom? The thought of Merlin just entering his arse with no preparation scared Arthur to death, but he vowed he wouldn’t show it.

A sound behind him, and Merlin was there, a warm hand sliding up the back of Arthur’s shirt and resting just above his arse.

“I’m going to put something inside you, Arthur,” Merlin said softly. “A plug. It isn’t very big, and it has lubrication on it. If you relax, it shouldn’t hurt at all.”

Arthur frowned. A plug? Dutifully, he took a deep breath and relaxed his muscles. A hand spreading his arse cheeks and pressure at his anus, and then something slipping in…

Arthur couldn’t help but tense at the invasion.

“It’s okay, now, take another breath and relax,” Merlin said, pausing in his pushing.

Arthur did so, and Merlin popped the plug the rest of the way in with one smooth movement.

It was a curious feeling—fullness and the sense of having something inside him that didn’t belong.

“You can pull your pants up, now,” Merlin said. Arthur straightened, wondering if that was it. Erect, the butt plug felt even more like an interloper, and it was pressing against something inside Arthur…just behind his balls… that made him undeniably horny. He bent, pulling up his pants and buckling his belt.

“All right, come along, then. I have reservations at a very nice restaurant. You’ll wear the plug all evening.” Merlin turned, and Arthur had no choice but to follow.  
Merlin was on fire. Arthur looked so…delicious in his school uniform. Better than Merlin ever imagined he would. He really did remind Merlin of Jonathan, and it pleased him to think that right now Arthur was sitting on a butt plug because Merlin had put it there. It was spreading him open, and Merlin hoped embarrassing him, although he couldn't tell it by Arthur's face.

He knew Arthur had been surprised when Merlin had ordered him to take his pants down and drape himself over the table, yet the boy had done it without question. It made Merlin wonder yet again at Arthur's compliance with the entire contract. Had his father paid him? Promised him a yacht or something in return?

And what of what Arthur had said about not minding being with men? It certainly put a crimp in Merlin's plans, but he'd thought about it all day and decided that it could work to his advantage. 

Watching Arthur as he sat, expressionless, looking out the taxi window, Merlin recalled the image of him lying across his dining room table a short time ago. If Merlin had been impressed with the front side of a naked Arthur, he'd been doubly impressed with the back.

Arthur had a plump, juicy arse that begged to have a bite taken out of it.

When they climbed out of the cab, Merlin was hard as granite and had to discreetly adjust himself before entering the restaurant. 

The lights were dim, and Merlin put a proprietary hand on Arthur's back as the maitre d' escorted them to the back. Arthur winced a bit as he sat down, and Merlin hid a smile. The waiter appeared, and Merlin ordered for them, turning to Arthur afterward and raising a brow. 

"Uncomfortable?" he asked.

Arthur shook his head. "No."

"What does it feel like, then?"

"Just...full." Arthur's nostrils flared, and Merlin took that as a sign that he didn't appreciate answering these questions, particularly in a public place.

"Unpleasantly full?" Merlin continued.

"No." Arthur's mouth became a hard line.

"So...it's pleasant then."

"It's tolerable." Arthur's voice definitely sounded annoyed, and that thrilled Merlin. He wanted Arthur to be annoyed.

"It's the smallest. They come much bigger. Much." Merlin took a sip of water, watching Arthur's face blanch in the candlelight. "When you see how large I am, you'll be glad for the preparation," Merlin promised him.

Arthur took an involuntary gasp of air, and Merlin narrowed his eyes. Yes, you'd do well to be afraid.  
Throughout the meal, Merlin questioned Arthur about his high school years. What kind of grades had he gotten? What were his friends like? As he'd expected, Arthur had hung around with privileged sports players. Merlin's mind flashed to Jonathan--how handsome he'd been. How much Merlin had liked him. Emotional pain accompanied by biting, utter shame washed over him, and Merlin finished his dinner in silence.

He noticed that Arthur didn't eat much of his food and drank very little wine. Merlin wondered if he was nervous. He decided he'd had enough to eat himself, and asked for the check.


	3. Naughty, Naughty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: more humiliation, spanking

  
  
As they left the restaurant, Merlin announced they were going to a club. Arthur didn't say anything, just followed along as Merlin hailed a taxi and directed it to another area of town. As they pulled up outside the neon sign flashing the name  _Avalon_ , Merlin watched Arthur's eyes grow wide and his mouth fall open.  
  
"Ever been any place like this?" Merlin asked Arthur.  
  
"No," Arthur said flatly.  
  
"Then you’re in for a treat," Merlin promised, paying the driver.  
  
The man at the door knew Merlin and stepped aside, allowing them to pass. Music, loud and pulsing, filled the air, along with flashing lights and sweaty bodies. Men in varying degrees of dress were everywhere, some outlandishly made up and some not. Merlin grasped Arthur's hand in his own so as not to lose him as he navigated them through the jumble of gyrating bodies. He noticed Arthur got a lot of looks in his school uniform, and even a few gropes on the arse. Arthur moved closer to Merlin, who wrapped an arm around him, pulling Arthur against his side until they got to an empty table. When Arthur made to slide into the booth seat, Merlin pulled him back, sat down in a chair, and positioned Arthur on his lap.  
  
The feeling of Arthur’s pert arse pressed against Merlin’s cock was heady, and Merlin gave a little thrust into it, bringing a gasp from Arthur’s lips. Merlin waved to Percy when he caught sight of him on the other side of the club, and the big man made his way over.  
  
"Merlin! How're you doing, mate? And who's this pretty boy you have with you?"  
  
Merlin curled his arm around Arthur's waist, resting his palm on his groin. "This is Arthur. Say hello to Percy, Arthur."  
  
"Hello," Arthur said, a bit sullenly, his rosy lips turned downward in a sulk that Merlin desperately wanted to fuck off.  
  
"Where did you find him?" Percy wanted to know. Merlin's eyes roamed over the large man. He looked incredibly buff in a tight shirt and even tighter trousers that hugged his massive thighs in a way that should be illegal.  
  
"We have mutual friends," Merlin replied, moving his hand over the bulge in Arthur's pants and smiling when he felt it twitch. "Arthur will be staying at my place for a while."   
  
Noticing that Arthur was sweating, Merlin let go of his hold. "Take your jacket off, Arthur, it's hot in here," he directed, and Arthur obediently stood, slipping out of it and tossing it into the booth. "Turn around," Merlin told him, and Arthur obeyed, although reluctantly. "Look at that arse, Perce. I put a plug in it earlier...the boy's stuffed."  
  
Merlin saw Arthur's cheeks flame as Percy looked his fill and made approving noises. Merlin held out his hand and pulled Arthur back down onto his lap, burying his face in the young man's damp hair, his hand once again seeking Arthur's crotch.

Arthur had never been in a place like Avalon in his life. There were so many men, and some of them were wearing eyeliner and glitter. He'd spotted one in short-shorts and a midriff snogging another wearing all leather. He'd never seen men kissing, other than on porn. It scared him because of all the feelings it awakened inside of him.  
  
Arthur knew he'd clenched Merlin's hand as they'd walked through the crowd, and even cowered closer to him when men had started touching him. He’d hated himself for the weak moment and had longed to hide in the booth, behind the table. But Merlin had had other plans. Arthur found himself perched on Merlin's lap, Merlin's very large erection poking Arthur in the arse and his hand fondling Arthur openly. Everyone and their dyke mother could see Merlin's fingers roving over Arthur's dick, and that very much included the huge Percy, who was practically salivating at the sight.  
  
Arthur had wanted to crawl under the table when Merlin had made him show Percy his backside, then proceeded to announce he'd stuffed him with a butt plug. The plug remained a constant reminder of his humiliation, and every time Merlin bucked into him, it nudged Arthur behind the balls, sending jolts of arousal through his treacherous body.   
  
And yet, Arthur was intrigued in spite of himself.  
  
"Do you dance, poppet?" Merlin asked into his ear, just before a wet tongue lodged there, making Arthur squirm in Merlin's lap like a fish on a hook.  
  
"Some," Arthur answered. "Not like...this."  
  
"Oh, well, it's high time you learned!" Merlin nudged him off his lap. "Perce, would you like to dance with us?"  
  
"Thought you'd never ask," Percy grinned, standing up and towering over the both of them.  
  
Merlin led them out to the floor where they squeezed into the crowd. Lifting his arms above his head, Merlin began to move his hips in time to the beat. He'd removed his jacket earlier, and his black shirt hugged his upper body invitingly. Percy moved in very close behind Arthur, pushing him into Merlin, moving his hips suggestively against Arthur's lower back.  
  
It was hot, so hot. A moment later, Percy and Merlin began to kiss over Arthur's shoulder. Arthur could see Percy's tongue enter Merlin's mouth, Merlin's plush lips moving hungrily over Percy's. It made Arthur so hard to watch, he shut his eyes to the sight. Then Merlin's hands were on Arthur's hips, pulling him closer so that Arthur knew Merlin could feel how stiff he was in his pants. The plug poked at him inside his body, and Arthur gasped.  
  
"Bathroom," Merlin said into Percy's mouth, and suddenly they were moving as three through the crowd toward the rest room sign. Inside, Percy bolted the door and fell to his knees. Arthur was confused, unsure of what exactly was going on, but then he saw Merlin undoing his belt, and Arthur just stared as Merlin took out his long cock, which was pierced through the head with a gold ball at the tip and one farther down.  
  
"There's the beauty," Percy said before enveloping it in his mouth, pushing until his neck muscles bulged and his face was buried in the nest of dark hair on Merlin's groin.  
  
"Oh, God..." Arthur heard himself groan as he watched Percy deep-throat Merlin, Merlin's long fingers clenching Percy's head as he bucked into him. Percy made filthy gagging noises, but clutched Merlin's hips and took it greedily. As Merlin lengthened, Percy couldn't fit it all in, and he grasped the base with his hand, twisting it in the spit pooled there. Merlin threw his head back, eyes closed, and Arthur watched, entranced. He wanted to do something...participate somehow...but he obediently played his part of the voyeur. Reaching down, he grabbed his penis and squeezed through his pants as Merlin's breathing became ragged and he stiffened, Percy swallowing convulsively until Merlin was spent.  
  
As Merlin withdrew and tidied up, he said raggedly, "Percy knows I'm clean, or he would have never done that, right, Perce?"  
  
Percy nodded, grinning. Arthur wondered what the point was of Merlin telling him that. Was it simply to assure him that Merlin only played with responsible people? It seemed a little ludicrous, given the situation.

Percy stood. "Always a pleasure, Merlin," he said before unbolting the door and leaving the room.

As Merlin washed his hands, Arthur let out a humiliatingly needy noise. Their eyes met in the mirror, and Arthur watched as Merlin lowered his gaze to Arthur's bulging crotch.  
  
"Tsk, tsk," Merlin said, flicking water off his hands and moving to stand behind Arthur. "Can't take you back out there like that, can we?" He slowly lowered Arthur's zipper, and Arthur stood transfixed, watching Merlin's actions in the mirror opposite.  
  
Slowly, Merlin pulled Arthur's stiff cock out of his pants, sliding his fingers over it once, twice, and then Arthur was coming, hard, his legs giving out beneath him--the only thing holding him up, Merlin's arm about his waist.  
  
"Shit," Arthur ground out between clenched teeth, hanging his head as Merlin put him back to rights.  
  
"It's probably time we left," Merlin told him, helping him out the door and back into the sea of faces and the loud music.

~~O~~

Merlin didn't touch Arthur for days, except to pull the butt plug out of him that night after returning home from Avalon. Instead, he kept his distance, and Arthur suffered with anticipation.  
  
Every night, after Merlin took his shower, Merlin walked about the penthouse flat naked as the day he was born, that gorgeous cock bobbing between his long legs. Arthur was obsessed with the piercing on Merlin's cock...he kept wondering what it would feel like inside of him, but then he remembered he didn't even know what it would be like to be fucked by a man, and the thought of it was frightening, even if it did harden him in an instant every time it crossed his mind.  
  
Arthur wore his school uniform, as ordered, and spent his days reading, watching television, or playing video games. It was pretty dull. Sometimes he worked out in the weight room, or took walks, which he was perfectly free to do. There weren't any stipulations on when he could leave the flat or where he could go, he was just hesitant to do so because explaining his current situation to mates would be difficult. He mainly stuck to parts of town where he wouldn't expect to run into anyone he knew, and he always wore sunglasses and a cap.  
  
On the fourth day after they'd been to the club, Merlin stayed gone for hours, and when he returned home, his mood was sour. Upon seeing him, Arthur's heart immediately sped up at the intensely focused look on Merlin's face.  
  
Merlin told Arthur to shower. "We're going out, but I don't want you in the uniform tonight. I'll set out some clothes for you. However, don't get dressed until I tell you to."  
  
While he washed, Arthur wondered what Merlin had planned, a little afraid and a little aroused, both. When he'd dried off, he wrapped the towel around his waist and went into his bedroom, where Merlin sat on the bed waiting for him.  
  
"Lie down on your stomach," Merlin told him, and Arthur complied, climbing up from the bottom of the bed. Merlin whipped the towel off, and Arthur felt cold air touch his still damp skin.  
  
"Up on your knees," Merlin said, his voice calm but firm. Arthur struggled up, his face buried in his pillow. He could hear Merlin moving behind him.  
  
"This plug is larger than the last one," Merlin said, and Arthur felt it wet and cold against his anus. "It may be uncomfortable at first, but you'll get used to it." Arthur felt it going in, and he winced.   
  
"Relax, Arthur," Merlin said, his voice soothing, and Arthur took a couple of deep breaths. The plug eased in, and Merlin rubbed Arthur's buttocks. "There. Now you can get dressed."  
  
Merlin left him, and Arthur pulled on the silk briefs, the ripped jeans, and the soft, deep red, cotton button-down shirt. He slipped his feet into the buttery leather shoes and left the bedroom, the plug feeling foreign and odd inside of him.  
  
They rode in the taxi in silence. Merlin had showered and changed, looking sexy in black jeans and a dark grey shirt, his black hair curling damply over his collar. He hadn't shaved, and Arthur liked the way the stubble looked on his jawline. He wondered if he were becoming brainwashed like some kidnapped victims he'd read about. His autonomy taken away, he was under Merlin's power and found himself wanting the man more than he'd ever thought possible. Merlin was taunting him...making him want more, but keeping himself at arms’ length. It was starting to make Arthur a little angry.  
  
They ended up at a party outside of town at someone's posh house that was larger even than Arthur's father's, and that was saying something. The party was wild--drugs being passed as frequently as the alcohol. Merlin told Arthur he could drink, but he was forbidden to use the drugs. Arthur told him that was fine by him, and thought for a moment Merlin would get angry that he'd spoken at all. But Merlin's face softened for a moment, and he nodded at Arthur before striding off without explanation. Arthur wondered what the fuck he was supposed to do there by himself. He wandered about, looking into doorways. He caught a few people having a bit of an orgy, and he backed out of that room fast. When he did, he bumped into someone and turned around.

"Oi, mate, who are you?" a bearded man asked.  
  
"I'm Arthur. I'm here with Merlin."  
  
"You don't say? Well, he's not around now, is he? Why don't you come with me for a bit? M'name's Gwaine."  
  
Gwaine had a fine arse, Arthur noticed as he followed him down the hall and into a room with couches and a movie screen. Someone was showing a porno flick, and there were several couples alternately snogging and watching.  
  
"Have a seat, Arthur," Gwaine invited. He sat beside him and leaned forward. "You like blokes?" he asked, a twinkle in his eyes.  
  
"Yeah," Arthur breathed, unsure what to think.  
  
"Brilliant." Gwaine leaned in, and Arthur could smell his spicy cologne. When his lips were just inches away from Arthur's mouth, he was suddenly wrenched out of Arthur's line of vision.  
  
"Just what the  _fuck_  is going on here?" Merlin stood in front of the couch looking angrier than Arthur had ever seen him. Gwaine sat on the floor rubbing his shoulder.  
  
"Hey, now, let's stay calm," Gwaine replied.  
  
"You keep out of this," Merlin barked, pointing at Gwaine.  
  
"And  _you_  come with me!" Merlin motioned for Arthur to walk ahead of him and out of the room.

Merlin shoved Arthur into another room that contained a couch, chairs, and television set, and closed the door. Arthur swung around on Merlin, his face red with anger.   
  
"I don't understand how you can get mad at me when you basically left me on my own!"  
  
"And you think that's license for you to run off and snog the first bloke you meet?" Merlin asked, stepping closer, his face tense and his breath hot on Arthur's cheek. Abruptly, he grabbed Arthur by the front of his shirt.   
  
"Have you forgotten that you're mine for the next six months of your life? That means no one else can have you, unless I say so! And you should've known that, so now you're going to be punished." Merlin unbuckled his belt and slid it out of the loops of his jeans. He turned and sat on the edge of the couch. "Get over here and pull your pants down."  
  
Arthur's brows raised. "What the fuck? I'm not some kid!"  
  
Merlin's jaw clenched. "Get over here."  
  
Arthur thought about refusing. He could walk out of here. But he knew the contract specified that Arthur reneging on the deal within the six month time period would result in all rights to  _Wizard_  returning to Merlin. Arthur's father would be ruined.  
  
Pressing his lips together, Arthur walked stiffly over to the couch, undid his jeans, and dropped them to the floor, along with the silk briefs.  
  
"Bend over my legs," Merlin instructed as he folded the belt in half and grasped it firmly in his hand.  
  
Flushing a deep red, Arthur did as he was told, wincing a bit as the piercing on his sac brushed against Merlin's jeans.  
  
Merlin ran a hand over Arthur's arse, and Arthur shivered at the touch. "You are not to ever touch any man except for me, do you understand?" Merlin asked softly.  
  
"Yes," Arthur murmured, and Merlin slapped his buttocks with the belt. It stung.  
  
"You belong to me, Arthur." He slapped him again, harder, and Arthur winced. "To whom do you belong?"  
  
"You," Arthur answered, and Merlin slapped him again, this time hitting the base of the plug inserted in Arthur's anus. Arthur cried out, not because it hurt per se, but because it jolted something inside him that sent off fireworks in his body.  
  
"That's right," Merlin told him.  
  
Just then the door opened, and Arthur was dismayed when Gwaine stuck his head into the room.  
  
"Get in here, mate, and shut the door," Merlin snapped. Arthur heard the door close. He could feel Gwaine's presence in the room. Feel him watching, witnessing Arthur’s humiliation. Merlin slapped Arthur with the belt six more times, hitting the plug with each and every swipe. Arthur's ass stung and his dick was half-hard.  
  
"Get up," Merlin said. When Arthur straightened, he kept his eyes down. Merlin reached out and touched the diamond M on Arthur's balls sac. "You see this, Gwaine? This means he's mine. Stay away from him. Now get out."   
  
"Sorry, mate, I didn't know."   
  
When Gwaine had gone, Merlin said, "If you forget again, I'll have to think of another means to let you and everyone else know, Arthur." He stood, and Arthur fumbled to pull his jeans back up.

Merlin did it on purpose, Arthur knew. He’d taken him back into a room filled with people, many of whom were men. And Arthur had to rebuke every one of them, due to Merlin's threat. Merlin stood yards away, leaning against the wall, just watching Arthur.  
  
It wasn't so much that Arthur wanted to go into a back room with any of the men who approached him; it was more that he had to make sure Merlin didn't think he was enjoying their advances. He was careful not to touch them, or to let them touch him. He didn't want a repeat of what had happened before.  
  
It had undoubtedly been the most humiliating experience of Arthur's life. His cheeks still burned with it...all four of them.  
  
It had also been the most provocatively sensual experience of Arthur’s life. Arthur's dick had been at half-mast ever since he'd lowered his pants. He was on a slow burn, and Merlin wasn't going to fucking do anything about it.  
  
Arthur locked eyes with Merlin across the room, showing his defiance. If Merlin thought he was going to avoid him, he was wrong. Arthur may be a virgin where men were concerned, but he wasn't a kid. He was getting tired of the games.  
  
Merlin's eyes never looked away, and Arthur could feel a fire kindling in his groin. He wished Merlin would do something--take him in a back room and just...do something.  _Anything_  to relieve the desire Arthur constantly lived with.   
  
The plug in his arse remained a constant reminder of what he wanted Merlin to do to him. It pressed into him, making him spark with need. He desperately wanted to get his hands on Merlin. Deliberately, he let his eyes wander down Merlin's body, stopping at his crotch. He watched as Merlin uncrossed his feet and spread his legs a little, groin jutting out. Arthur slipped his tongue past his lips, licking them, before meeting Merlin's eyes again. Merlin blinked, and Arthur felt vindicated.  
  
A moment later, Merlin escorted him out of the room, announcing it was time to go home.


	4. More

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Man, I'm finding so many errors in this! Cleaning it up.

 

 

In the back of the cab, Merlin pulled Arthur close, whispering in his ear, "Your virgin arse is mine; don't you forget it." He was hard as a rock.   
  
Seeing Arthur with Gwaine...seeing Gwaine's lips almost touch Arthur's...had made Merlin crazy with jealousy and need. And the anger Arthur had displayed when Merlin had gotten him alone...it had done things to him. He'd been unable to control the urge to whip that boy's naughty behind.  
  
Arthur with his ripped jeans pooled at his feet, his bare, round arse across Merlin's lap...it had been so incredibly hot. Every time Merlin hit Arthur's white skin with the belt and made a red mark, his dick had grown an inch. Then, when he'd hit the plug with the belt and Arthur had yelped, Merlin had almost come in his pants.  
  
Merlin fully expected Arthur to be cowed by the spanking, especially since Gwaine had witnessed part of it. But then Arthur had surprised Merlin yet again by giving him that  _look_  across the crowded room, like he was daring Merlin to do something. And Arthur's eyes had roamed downward, stopping to rest on Merlin's groin.   
  
And he'd licked those rosy lips.  
  
Merlin had had to get them out of there.   
  
Now he sat in the taxi, Arthur's scent in his nostrils, and Merlin wanted him so badly he ached.  
  
Sifting his fingers through Arthur's soft hair, Merlin touched his lips to Arthur's neck before licking the skin. The shudder that ran through Arthur's body sent an answering tremor through Merlin's. "What is it you want, Arthur?" Merlin asked in Arthur's ear.  
  
Arthur turned and looked Merlin in the eyes. "I want your cock in my mouth," he said hoarsely, and it took all of Merlin's willpower not to cream his pants then and there.  
  
"Then you shall have it," Merlin answered. He turned and kept his eyes trained on the darkness outside until they pulled up in front of his building.

Merlin didn't know what was happening to him. Every moment that he spent with Arthur Pendragon tore down some of the walls he'd constructed around himself. This was supposed to be about his revenge. About his healing. But Arthur wasn't acting the spoiled rich boy. Seeing Arthur in his school uniform wasn't making Merlin think of Jonathan like he'd thought it would. It was becoming more and more difficult for Merlin to remember that Arthur was supposed to be the symbol of those who had hurt him.  
  
Once inside his penthouse, Merlin struggled to keep his senses about him as Arthur turned and gave Merlin a look of pure hunger. He got the sudden feeling that the tables were turning as Arthur dropped to his knees at Merlin's feet and began unbuckling Merlin's belt.  
  
Merlin tried to rein in his rushing blood and galloping heart, but it was difficult as he watched the blond head so close to his groin. As Arthur pulled down Merlin's jeans, Merlin felt Arthur's hot breath ghosting over his skin. The way Arthur stared at Merlin's exposed cock made him tremble, and said cock quickly fill with blood.  
  
Merlin watched as Arthur tentatively stuck out his pink tongue and touched the gold ball nearest his slit. Merlin shivered as Arthur played with it, rolling it about before moving his tongue to slide underneath the head.  
  
Arthur looked up at Merlin and surprised him by saying, "Tell me how."  
  
Merlin's mouth had gone dry long ago, but he summoned up enough spittle to rasp out, "Take it and suck it. Careful with your teeth."  
  
Arthur opened his mouth like he was receiving the communion wafer and took Merlin in, closing his red lips around him and sucking--ohsofuckinggood--his jaw working and his hands running over Merlin's legs.  
  
And Merlin was lost in sensation. He closed his eyes and opened his mouth, hands reaching for Arthur's head, fisting in his luscious hair. When Arthur started making noises like he was feasting on something unbearably delicious, Merlin's balls tightened. Arthur seemed fascinated by Merlin's cock piercing, because he kept tonguing the little balls, sending electric zips of feeling throughout Merlin's dick and making him cry out in pleasure.  
  
When Merlin knew he couldn't hold it in any longer and was going to cum, he pulled out of Arthur's mouth, letting the long white ropes of semen shoot out of him, covering Arthur's face, dripping off his handsome nose and swollen lips. Merlin leaned back against the wall, breathing hard, almost laughing to see the odd look on Arthur's face as he tasted Merlin's spunk and pronounced it "delicious" with a cocky grin.

It had taken years for Merlin to perfect his  _fuck you world_ attitude, and here some nineteen-year-old rich virgin came in like a wrecking ball and crashed a hole in it.  
  
Merlin found himself pacing his room like a caged tiger, having sent a slightly smirking Arthur to his room. He could still feel Arthur's mouth on his cock, sucking. Could still feel the blond hair between his fingers as that tortuous tongue drove him to mind-numbing heights of desire.  
  
Closing his eyes, Merlin forced himself to think back...back to that day when the whole school was abuzz with the story of Jonathan's conquest. The geeky nerd and the footie player--complete with a video taken by Geraint Winters, hiding in Jonathan's closet. Freya had tried to warn Merlin--tried to get him to leave, skip school, but Merlin's head had been in the clouds, and he hadn't been listening.  
  
The stares, the laughter behind hands. Even worse--the pitying looks of people like Freya and Will. Anger, white and hot filled Merlin as he remembered those awful days, months afterward, when he was not only the center of contempt and pity, but he'd had to live with the knowledge that Jonathan, the beautiful golden prince that Merlin had thought he'd loved, had never cared for him at all. Had lied to him, and set him up for a humiliating fall.   
  
Merlin had literally wanted to die, and if it hadn't been for Will, he knew he would have. Will and his constant rants about the over-privileged and their lack of anything better to do than to devise ways to make the more intelligent, more worthy, to suffer at their hands. God, Merlin loved Will for what he'd done for him. He'd saved him, fueled his anger and given him a reason to go on. Merlin had thrown himself into his computer interests, forced himself to ignore others and not think of Jonathan through that last, long senior year. And uni had been a blessed relief, but Merlin had never forgotten.  
  
If he'd even come close, the ruin of Will's father's business and his death soon after had served as a bitter reminder.  
  
And now, his biggest chance at exorcising those demons came in the form of Arthur Pendragon, son of business tycoon Uther Pendragon...smugly waiting in the guest room for Merlin's next move. Merlin swallowed hard, straightened his back, and headed that way.

Arthur wasn't sure what he expected after having given Merlin head, but it certainly wasn't the angry look Merlin gave him when he finally entered Arthur's room.  
  
Arthur watched warily as Merlin took a seat in a comfortable chair and ordered Arthur to come stand before him.  
  
"Now strip," Merlin told him. "Slowly. Piece by piece, beginning with your shirt."  
  
Arthur complied, pulling the red material from his waist band and beginning to unbutton it. The butt plug felt like a promise in his arse...it was becoming unbearable. He wanted more. Sweat broke out across his forehead as he watched Merlin's gaze roam over his body as Arthur undressed little by little. Merlin's eyes revealed nothing; if he wanted Arthur, Arthur couldn't tell it. But he knew he'd pleased Merlin earlier. He'd seen that same look of desire on Merlin's face as he'd seen when Percy had gone down on Merlin in the Avalon bathroom. Arthur had done it right, and Merlin had loved it. Arthur's cock filled to bursting.  
  
When Arthur was completely nude, his body tingling with need, Merlin ordered him over to the bed, and the next thing Arthur knew, he was being tied spread-eagled to the frame, his fully erect, throbbing, dick trussed up like a turkey ready for the oven. He'd never be able to cum that way, and the torture was slowly killing him. He began to realize that that was what Merlin wanted. Of course it was. To make Arthur suffer, never to give him pleasure. The bastard.  
  
Merlin felt the plug being slowly removed from his body, and he pushed his arse back, wanting more.  
  
"Don't worry, you horny thing," Merlin said softly. Coming around to his line of vision, Merlin showed Arthur what he had planned for him--a long, black spiral toy, like a cork screw, only much larger. "Your arse is going to be filled with this, Arthur. And I'm going to fuck you with it." Merlin winked at him and disappeared from view.  
  
Arthur began to breathe hard, his wrists uselessly pulling at the restraints.  
  
"N-no...I'm not ready for that," he said, suddenly panicking despite the fact his bound cock was leaking all over the bed.  
  
"Oh, I think you are. Don't worry; I'm greasing it up good." After a moment, Arthur saw Merlin cross to the dresser and set his phone there. "I'm taping this, Arthur. I want to send it to a friend who will really get a kick out of it." He then returned to Arthur and wrapped a scarf around Arthur's face, hiding the upper portions from view.

"I'm turning it on now. You're on video...you're a star," Merlin laughed mirthlessly, and Arthur struggled with his restraints again, sure that if he managed to release himself, he would render Merlin senseless with his fists. Yet, would he really? It wasn't only a question of his father's company anymore. There was the fact that, in spite of being humiliated and utterly enraged, Arthur was incredibly, undeniably turned on. Merlin bent and whispered in his ear. "Tell my friend how rich you are, and what I'm going to do to you." He moved away. "Do it."  
  
"I-I'm rich. Very rich. And...M-merlin's going to...going to fuck me with a toy. In the arse." He swallowed hard.  
  
"And you want it, don't you, Arthur."  
  
"I want it. I do," Arthur confirmed, inwardly cursing Merlin because it was true.  
  
There was silence for a brief moment, and then Merlin said softly, "If it's too much...if you really want me to stop, say so, Arthur. Tell me to stop, and I will."  
  
Surprised, Arthur swallowed again and gave a small nod.  
  
The first push of the appliance in Arthur's bum was a shock, even though he'd expected it. Merlin may be a sick bastard, but he wasn't being brutal about it. The spiral entered Arthur slowly and carefully until he was fully filled with it. If felt similar to the plug, only larger. Then Merlin began twisting it, and all sense left Arthur's head at the incredible sensations it gave him. To his dismay, Arthur cried out, jutting his arse as far in the air as he could manage in his position. He begged for more, delighting in each twist and thrust.  
  
"Ahhh..." he screamed, needing release but unable to achieve it with the way his cock was tied. It was torture--incredible, delectable torture. "Please...please, please, please, Merlin..."  
  
"Please what, Arthur?" Merlin twisted the toy in Arthur's arse.  
  
"Please...please let me cum...ah, fuck!"  
  
Merlin pumped harder, tilting the thing until it nudged behind Arthur's balls, making him cry out even louder. Arthur wondered how insulated the penthouse was...if there were neighbors hearing him beg, and the thought made him even more turned on. Then he remembered the film...the fact that someone would see him tied to the bed like this with Merlin fucking him with a huge toy, and he let out a sob.   
  
"Perhaps I'll send a copy of this to Daddy," Merlin mused as he twisted and turned the toy in Arthur's greedy arse. "Let him see how much his baby boy wants it."  
  
Arthur groaned and wiggled.  
  
Then, unexpectedly, Merlin's hand slid beneath him, releasing Arthur's cock with a flick of the wrist, and Arthur saw stars. His body jolted and then suddenly his feet were released and Arthur bent his knees, rutting shamelessly against the bed as he ejaculated what felt like buckets all over the sheets.  
  
As Arthur lay spent, his chest heaving against the bed, Merlin untied Arthur's wrists and quietly left the room, taking his phone with him.

When Arthur awoke, it was dark, his face was pressed into the mattress, and his limbs cried out from being in the same position for hours. Straightening them out, he blinked at the digital clock on the nightstand. 2:13 AM.   
  
He was sore and tired, and lying in patch of dried cum. Stretching his legs, his mind went to earlier that night and what Merlin had done to him. On video. His face flushed at the memory of how badly he'd wanted it. How he'd begged for it.  
  
Sliding off the bed, he headed for the bathroom to take a shower. A noise stopped him in his tracks. It sounded like...he really wasn't sure what. It could be the television set in Merlin's room. He listened harder. A voice.  
  
Arthur took his pyjama bottoms off the back of the bathroom door where he'd hung them that morning and slipped them on before opening the door to his bedroom and walking out into the dark hallway.  
  
He stood listening for a few moments more before hearing a voice again...coming from Merlin's bedroom. Arthur padded to the door and pressed his ear against it, thinking perhaps Merlin was on the phone. He didn't want to just barge in.  
  
Then Arthur heard Merlin cry out and grabbed the knob, opening the door and walking into the dark room. Arthur could make out Merlin's form on the large antique bed.  
  
"Merlin?" he ventured. Merlin muttered something, and Arthur moved closer. Bending close, he could see that Merlin's eyes were closed, his chest heaving as though he'd been running. Arthur reached out and put a hand on Merlin's shoulder, shaking gently. "Merlin, wake up."  
  
"No..." Merlin moaned. "thought...loved me."  
  
Arthur sat on the edge of the bed and shook Merlin harder.   
  
"Jonathan!" Merlin's eyes flew open and looked around frantically before landing on Arthur.  
  
"Huh? You're not..." he cried.   
  
"You were dreaming," Arthur told him. "I heard you from my room." Arthur reached out and touched Merlin's face. "You were crying."  
  
Merlin moved away. "I'm okay. Sorry I woke you."  
  
"It's okay." Arthur watched Merlin's face. "Who's Jonathan?"  
  
"What?" Merlin's whole body jerked.   
  
"Jonathan. You said his name just now."  
  
Merlin looked away. "Just someone I used to know," he said, swallowing with difficulty. "Go back to bed, Arthur."  
  
"Are you sure you're okay?"  
  
"I'm fine."  
  
Arthur stood and walked to the door, pausing a moment to look back at Merlin, who had buried his face in his hands. He wished he understood the man. He wished he knew what it was that drew him to him, even though by all rights he should hate him.

  
  
  



	5. Too Far

Merlin was closed-off the next day, moving about the flat as though he were alone. Arthur kept out of his way, unsure. Part of him was still embarrassed, anyway, about the way he had acted when tied to his bed. And he wondered if Merlin would really send the video to Arthur's father. If he did, how would Uther react? Arthur's cheeks burned thinking of the way he'd writhed and begged for more. Uther had no idea that Arthur fancied men. Arthur had made sure that he'd never, ever let it show.  
  
Merlin knocked on the door to Arthur's bedroom around one o'clock, and for a moment Arthur's heart raced in sinful anticipation. But he was only calling Arthur to lunch.  
  
The food smelled magnificent...roast with potatoes, carrots, and other vegetables.  
  
"You cooked this?" Arthur asked, and realized it was the first time he'd spoken to Merlin since the night previous after Merlin's bad dream.  
  
"Of course. Do you see anyone else around?" Merlin's voice was neutral. He seemed to have pulled out of his sulk.  
  
"It smells wonderful," Arthur murmured, his stomach growling audibly, and Merlin laughed. Arthur thought it a magical sound, and for a moment he was mesmerized by the way the laugh transformed Merlin's face. He really had a beautiful smile.  
  
"Thanks. Dig in."  
  
Partway through the meal, Arthur drew up his courage and asked, "Um...Merlin, um. Did you...I mean, are you..."  
  
"Spit it out, Arthur," Merlin ordered around his bite of beef.  
  
"My father doesn't know that I, um. That I well, like men."  
  
Merlin stopped eating and raised a brow.  
  
"Are you really sending the video to him?" Arthur asked in a rush.  
  
Merlin swallowed his food. He looked down at his plate a moment before taking a drink of water. "I--no. I won't send it to your father," he said before abruptly changing the subject. "We're having company tonight. Some friends of mine. I'll choose something for you to wear."  
  
At the moment Arthur was in his school uniform. He wondered why Merlin wanted him to change out of it, but he wasn't going to ask. It was enough that Merlin had said he wouldn't send the video to his father. He nodded and continued eating.

  
***  
  
Merlin watched Arthur eat, the way his strong jaw moved, his tongue licking over lips glossed with beef juice, his Adam's apple bobbing when he swallowed. He'd dreamed of the boy the night before...dreamed they'd been one sweaty, roiling blur in bed, all mouths and limbs and cock. That was before the other dream. The one that was so real, Merlin had actually cried out in his sleep, bringing Arthur into his bedroom.  
  
Merlin still remembered the disorientation he'd felt when Arthur's voice had pierced his nightmare...melded into Jonathan's, which had been laughing mercilessly at him, telling him he was crazy to think Merlin had ever been more than a joke to him.  
  
And then Merlin had opened his eyes to find Arthur there leaning over him, concerned. Merlin had wanted to bury his nose in Arthur's chest and hold on forever.  
  
It had been extremely unsettling, and Merlin hadn't slept a wink after sending Arthur back to his room. It had taken him all morning and a lot of therapeutic cooking to cleanse himself of all those feelings. Once he'd felt normal again, he'd immediately made some phone calls. It wouldn't do to forget the reason why he had Arthur there. He'd also sent Will a copy of the video he'd made of Arthur the night before. He'd forgotten his mild threat to Arthur that he'd send one to his father. He hadn't really intended to--It had mainly been made in the interest of titillation, but seeing Arthur's face when he'd stumbled over his words, asking if Merlin was really going to send it to Uther, had effectively killed any enjoyment Merlin might have obtained from doing so. In fact, as soon as Arthur left the table to go shower, Merlin erased it entirely from his phone's memory.

Merlin had fully intended to put Arthur in something like crotchless pants for the evening. Parade him around with his package exposed, for all his guests to see. But when the time came for him to run out and buy some, Merlin found he couldn't do it. Arthur was too green, too sincere, too fucking compliant and  _nice_  for him to do that to. And that made Merlin incredibly angry. But his anger was directed at himself, not Arthur, so he couldn't even channel that to help him out.  
  
He ended up dressing Arthur almost conservatively in a pair of slacks and a silky shirt. He made him go without shoes and socks, because Merlin found a barefoot Arthur extremely sexy for some reason. He also put nipple clamps on him. Arthur winced, eyeing the silver chain hanging between them, which was visible in the open V of his shirt. Merlin didn't want to plug him, though, and he didn't stop to examine the reasons why.  
  
Percy and his girlfriend, Jada, arrived first. Percy smiled and nodded at Arthur, and although Merlin knew it was innocent, he didn't like it. The knowledge of that made Merlin exceedingly uncomfortable and put a scowl on his face for a good thirty minutes. Morgause and Gilly arrived next, then Valiant and Cedric.  
  
While Merlin supplied copious amounts of alcohol, he nursed the same martini for an hour, and he kept all booze away from Arthur.  
  
"Why don't you let the kid have a drink?" Valiant asked Merlin as they sat around the living room talking.  
  
"Why don't you suck my cock?" Merlin shot back, pulling Arthur closer to him and running his hand over his thigh.  
  
"Mainly because you won't let me," Valiant snapped back.  
  
"He lets me," Percy told Valiant with a wink. Jada frowned.  
  
"Is Arthur your boyfriend, Merlin? If he is, you certainly treat him like shit," she observed. "He doesn't even get to say anything."  
  
"He's more like Merlin's boy toy," Percy told her. "Speaking of boy toys, Merlin, tell Jada about the time we went to that crazy club up north."  
  
Happy to get off the subject of exactly what Arthur was to him, Merlin began the tale, and soon everyone was laughing uproariously. As he talked, Merlin kept his palm on Arthur's cock and rubbed it steadily through the thin material of Arthur's pants. It wasn't long until Arthur was giving small, involuntary humps into the pressure of Merlin's hand. Merlin could tell he was horny as hell and almost felt sorry for him. When Percy took up the story, Merlin glanced over at Arthur, who had his head tilted back on the sofa cushion, exposing his long, tanned neck. Merlin leaned in and pressed his lips to the tendon there, tasting Arthur's skin and feeling his pulse racing madly.  
  
"Merlin..." Arthur breathed, almost begging. It made Merlin's cock hard.  
  
Someone put on some music, and Morgause and Gilly got up to dance. Merlin continued to taste Arthur's neck, loving the way Arthur's body arched off the couch into Merlin's palm. A couple more people arrived, and Merlin didn't even notice who they were. Suddenly, Arthur moved his face toward Merlin, catching his lips with his own.  
  
Sensation washed over Merlin, and he opened his mouth, meeting Arthur's tongue in a slow, wet, slide that he felt all the way down to his toes. Arthur curled a hand around Merlin's neck, pulling him closer as he kissed Merlin aggressively, turning his body and climbing into Merlin's lap.  
  
"Hey, if I'd known it was going to be an orgy, I'd have brought my bag of tricks," Cedric complained, and Merlin pulled back, looking up into Arthur's wrecked face. If he wanted to, he could make it an orgy; these people certainly wouldn't mind. But Merlin didn't want to have sex with Arthur in front of an audience. He wasn't sure if he wanted to have sex with him at all.  
  
By all rights, Merlin should be fucking Arthur by now. That's why he'd insisted on the tests, because Merlin had planned on day after day of bare-backing the young stud. But somewhere along the line, things hadn't gone quite to plan. Merlin was behind schedule, and he didn't know if he even wanted to go through with it anymore. Something warned Merlin that it would be dangerous to take Arthur Pendragon to his bed. Toying with Arthur was one thing, but Merlin giving over his body to Arthur was quite another. Arthur made him  _feel_  too much.  
  
And Merlin was a lot of things, but one thing he would never be again was another man's fool.

 

Arthur was on fire. Merlin was burning him up, inch by inch, minute by minute. First he'd had to endure sitting with Merlin's hand pressed to Arthur's crotch while everyone just conversed around him like it was perfectly normal...Percy had called Arthur Merlin's  _boy toy_ , which is exactly what he felt like...and then Merlin had finally  _finally_  put his lips on Arthur's neck, and Arthur just wanted more more more, please, shit.  
  
When Arthur's lips first touched Merlin's, he was certain he was in heaven. Merlin's mouth was as pillowy-soft as he'd imagined, his tongue hot and slippery against Arthur's, and suddenly Arthur didn't give a flying fuck who was in the room or what they saw. He threw himself into the kiss, climbing onto Merlin's lap to get better leverage. And there was Merlin's magic finger tracing Arthur's hot, hard cock through his trousers, making Arthur beg again, and then Merlin tugged at the chain linking his nipples, and a jolt of hot arousal zipped down to Arthur’s cock, turning it into hot stone.  
  
"Please, Merlin, touch me...something, please..."  
  
"We have company, if you'll recall, Arthur. You're really being quite the little slut, aren't you?" Merlin laughed at him, but Arthur didn’t care; he was too far gone to argue or even feel insulted. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Gilly dry-humping Morgause out on the floor as the music pulsed around them, his hand hiking her shirt up, revealing one of her small tits. Arthur suddenly got a whiff of the sweet scent of marijuana, and heard Percy's low chuckle from somewhere nearby on the couch.  
  
"I don't care; just touch me, please!" he begged.  
  
"What do you want me to do, poppet?" Merlin asked him, his breath hot in Arthur's ear.  
  
"Oh, fuck...put your mouth on me," Arthur pleaded.  
  
"Here? Because I'm not going to be rude and leave my guests."  
  
"I don't care, motherfuckit!"  
  
And then Merlin's hands were unzipping Arthur's pants and sliding inside,  _fuck_  and taking out his cock  _ohfuckhisfingers_  and then Merlin was sliding down the couch into a slump so that Arthur's knees were on each side of him and his granite-hard cock directly in Merlin's face. Arthur looked down at those moist, sweet lips just centimeters from his dick and let out a long, loud groan.  
  
"Look, Val, Merl's going to suck the kid," Cendric said, and it seemed all eyes were on them, then, but Arthur didn't care. In fact, he liked it.  
  
"Fuck, Merlin, is that your fucking initial on his sac? Shit!"  
  
Arthur didn't even know who said that, because Merlin had his tongue beneath Arthur's balls, jiggling them.  
  
"Fuck, he loves it; look at him!" Possibly Val said. No, it was Gilly. Arthur had his head thrown back, his hands buried in Merlin's soft hair.   
  
"Holy shit, Cen, touch me..." Valiant or somebody begged nearby.  
  
Arthur lost track of what was going on around him then, because Merlin took him into his wet, warm mouth and began sucking, and Merlin's hands were grasping Arthur's ass, encouraging him to move, and Arthur was thrusting, and Merlin was gagging, and  _fuckfuckfuck_  Arthur had never felt anything like it before. Merlin opened his mouth all the way up, allowing Arthur to fuck his throat, the tip of his cock hitting the soft insides, and it felt so _motherfucking good!_ When Arthur ventured to look down on him and saw Merlin taking him in like that, heard the squishy wet noises and Merlin's gagging, he tensed and then blew, his entire body convulsing. He shouted until his head hurt, his voice mingling with the moaning around him, before sliding down off the couch into a boneless heap on the floor.

When the darkness began to recede from around Arthur's vision, he slowly became aware of sensations. First, the sweet pain of the nipple clamps on his sore nipples where they pressed against his shirt, next the slight give of the carpet beneath his knees and his cheek, then the lingering tingle in his spent cock, and finally the gradually slowing knock of his heartbeat against the walls of his chest.  
  
"Why don't you fuck him in front of us, Merlin?" someone's voice pierced Arthur's post-coital fog, and he stiffened, wondering if Merlin would do it. And did Arthur want him to do it?  
  
He opened his eyes to the disturbing sight of Gilly's face buried between a squirming Morgause's legs, and pushed himself over onto his back. He jumped when someone touched his sensitive cock.  
  
"Only making you decent," Merlin told him, and honest to God, Arthur wanted to laugh at the irony of it.  
  
"So, are you going to do it?" It was Cenred speaking, and his tone was getting belligerent. "Come on...you can't put on a show like that and then leave us wanting."  
  
"Seriously, Merlin," Val's voice was quieter, but Arthur detected a steeliness in it that sent a shiver up his spine. "Or maybe you'll give one of us a go at him."  
  
"Or all of us," Cenred suggested impatiently.

Merlin reached for Arthur's hand, pulling him up, and Arthur could feel the tension running through the other man.  
  
"Go to your room, Arthur," Merlin said in an undertone.  
  
Arthur looked at Cenred. He was almost completely undressed, a cock that looked like it belonged on a horse rather than a man jutting out from his groin. Arthur suddenly felt real fear. He took a step back, toward the hallway and the bedrooms.  
  
"Now, don't be like that, Merls," Valiant said, stepping up from where he'd been standing behind Cenred. Gilly, Morgause, and a couple that Arthur hadn’t seen arrive moved out of the way as Percy came forward.  
  
"Arthur..." Merlin warned, and Arthur turned and took off for the bedroom, seeing Merlin run forward to block Valiant as he started after him. He heard something clatter and several shouts, but he didn't stop until he was on the other side of his closed, locked door.  
  
When the cursing and crashing from the living area reached a crescendo, and Arthur heard Morgause scream, he reached for the door knob, but he stopped himself. If Cenred and Valiant got hold of him, there would be little he could do to defend himself. Merlin wasn't any match for the two of them, and Arthur didn't know where Gilly and Percy stood. He backed away, sitting on the bed until everything fell quiet.  
  
After what seemed like a very long time, Arthur heard a voice at his door.  
  
"Arthur? It's Percy. You can come out now."  
  
Arthur stared at the door. "Where's Merlin?"  
  
"He's in his room. Everyone else has gone."  
  
Arthur didn't know what to do. What if it was a trick? Would Percy harm him? Would he be likely to go along with Merlin or the others?  
  
"Why doesn't Merlin tell me to come out?" he finally ventured.  
  
"He's hurt, Arthur. I put him to bed. Honestly, you can come out. Jada and I are leaving, but take care of Merlin, would you? He ended up taking quite a beating from Valiant before I could pull him off."  
  
Arthur heard retreating footsteps and after a moment, the front door closing. He waited a few more minutes before opening the bedroom door.  
  
Everything was quiet in the hallway. Arthur looked toward Merlin's door, which was cracked open.

"Merlin?" he called, walking toward it. There was no answer. He peered inside. It was dark, but he could just make out a form curled into a ball on the bed. He went forward.  
  
"Merlin? Are you all right?" Arthur asked, sitting on the edge of the bed and putting his hand tentatively on Merlin's hip.  
  
Merlin grunted. "I'll be okay," he said tightly.  
  
"Can I get you anything?" Arthur asked. "Some water, maybe?"  
  
Merlin gingerly uncurled himself and rolled over. His face was a battered mess.   
  
"Shit!" Arthur said, horrified. "Fuck, Merlin! Valiant did this to you?"  
  
Merlin watched him for a long moment. "I'm okay. You can go to bed."  
  
"You don't look okay," Arthur protested. "You look like hamburger meat."  
The corner of Merlin's mouth quirked up.   
  
"Thanks. That's pretty much what I feel like, too. I couldn't let those losers get their hands on you, though. It wouldn't have been pretty."  
  
"I'm a little surprised you stopped them," Arthur admitted.  
  
Merlin's face twitched, and he looked away. "I guess I deserved that," he said quietly. "Go to bed, Arthur. Thanks for looking in on me."  
  
Arthur ignored him, moving his hand to lift Merlin's shirt up. "God, your stomach is all red. It's going to be a mass of bruises tomorrow. Maybe I should take you to hospital."  
  
"No! I'm fine; I mean it. It's not as bad as it looks."  
  
"Well, here...at least let me help you get comfortable." Arthur pushed Merlin's objecting hands away and unbuttoned his shirt, guiding Merlin's arms out of it. "Easy," he said softly when Merlin cried out. Reaching down, he unzipped Merlin's pants. When he had everything off except for the boxers, Arthur eased Merlin under the covers. Merlin let out a long groan before relaxing into the mattress.  
  
"I'll be right back," Arthur said, heading for the bathroom and returning with a wet cloth. Gently, he wiped the dried blood off Merlin's face.  
  
"You'd make a good nurse," Merlin said tiredly.  
  
"Father would have a shit fit," Arthur replied with mock loftiness. "Nurses are _girls_ ,  _Mer_ lin."  
  
"A thousand pardons. A doctor, then."  
  
Arthur's lips turned down. "Not smart enough for that, I'm afraid. Didn't he tell you? I'm a trainer in a gym. He usually works that into the conversation right away--how I disappointed him by failing to have any business sense."  
  
Merlin said nothing, only stared at Arthur in the darkness.

"There, at least your face is clean," Arthur said, tossing the rag into a laundry basket by the door. He went to the kitchen and returned with a glass of water and some pain reliever. "Please call me if you need anything, Merlin," Arthur told him. "I don't mind."


	6. A Change of Heart?

Merlin felt like a hundred different kinds of shit. And not just physically. He wished Arthur wasn't so fucking nice. It was becoming more and more apparent every day that Merlin had picked the worst possible rich boy to take the brunt of his anger.   
  
Gingerly, he rolled over in bed. He didn't think his ribs were cracked, but Val had definitely shown him his displeasure at being denied a go with Arthur. But there had been no fucking way that Merlin was going to let that sick fuck near him. He must have been crazy to have invited him and his psycho boyfriend Cenred over in the first place.  
  
Merlin let out a breath, remembering the thrill that had gone through him when he'd deep-throated Arthur. Having others in the room had definitely made it sexier, but he should have anticipated Cenred and Val's reactions. He was just fortunate that Percy and Gilly were there. If it hadn't been for them, things would have ended a whole lot worse.  
  
His mobile buzzed, and Merlin reached for it, wincing when his battered muscles complained at the sudden movement.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Merlin? What the FUCK are you thinking, man? Who in the FUCK was that guy in the video you sent me? Have you gone off your FUCKING nut, mate?"  
  
Merlin had to hold the phone away from his face as Will screamed at him.  
  
"And why in the FUCK did you think I'd want to see that, anyway? Here I thought you'd sent me some funny, cute vid...like dogs on bikes or something...and what do I get? My best mate gone bdsm on me with some dude who looks like he's fresh out of school! What the HELL, Merlin? WHAT THE HELL?! ---Are you going to fucking answer me, you little prick?"  
  
"Are you going to shut up so I can?" Merlin asked, his voice tired. "Look, Will I regret sending it to you. Forget it."  
  
"FORGET it? What the HELL are you talking about, forget it? I can't fucking forget it, Merlin! Oh, sweet FUCK! That was just DISTURBING! What got into you?"  
  
Merlin licked his lips, tasting blood where the bottom one had split. "I was thinking that I'd gotten my chance to get back at the rich bastards that have made us suffer, Will."  
  
"The rich--Merlin, what the FUCK?" An assortment of snorting and huffing noises followed, and Merlin just lay back and waited for him to calm down.   
  
When it was finally quiet on the other end, Merlin said, "I hated them for what they did to your father. I hated my father for what he did to my mum. And I hated fucking Jonathan and his fucking friends for..." Merlin's voice broke.  
  
"Damn it, Merlin, don't fucking cry when I can't come over there and do anything about it!"  
  
Merlin sniffed. "I'm in so fucking deep, Will."  
  
"What have you done?" The trepidation in Will's voice made Merlin laugh, just this side of hysterical.  
  
"What the hell  _haven't_  I done?"

"Merlin, you're scaring me."  
  
Merlin cleared his throat, trying to get himself under control. Will was hundreds of miles away, and hearing Merlin upset was only torturing his friend.  
  
"I'm okay, Will. I've just been...making some poor choices."  
  
"Tell me about it!" Will snorted. "If that video was any indication. Who was that bloke?"  
  
"Just someone I picked up for the night. Don't worry; he was legal.”

“Merlin, when I used to go on about making the rich bastards pay, It was just all talk—we were kids, for fuck’s sake.”

“Okay, Will I get it. Look, I'm exhausted, yeah? I'll call you soon, and we'll really talk."  
  
"You sure you're okay, Merlin?"   
  
"Yeah. I'm good. Really."  
  
After Merlin ended the call, he hauled himself up to a sitting position, wincing all the while. He was so sore, his muscles cried out every time he moved. Slowly, he made his way to the bathroom and stood under a hot shower for a long time, his forehead pressed against the tile, before getting out, drying off, and heading back to bed where he burrowed under the covers.  
  
A few minutes later, there was a light rapping on his bedroom door.  
  
"Merlin?" Arthur poked his head in. "Do you need anything?"  
  
"Why aren't you asleep, Arthur?" Merlin asked tiredly.  
  
"I can't sleep." Arthur walked in and sat on the edge of the bed. "How do you feel?"  
  
Merlin had really intended to say he was fine, but what came out of his mouth was, "Lousy." And damn it if his voice didn't sound broken and needy when he said it.  
  
Arthur got up and walked around the bed. Lifting the edge of the duvet, he crawled under it, pressing up against Merlin where he curled into himself. Arthur smelled of soap and shampoo, and his body was warm and comforting where it wrapped around Merlin's.   
  
Merlin found himself relaxing, and just before he drifted off, he thought he felt Arthur's mouth press against his shoulder in a kiss.

The following morning, Merlin awoke to the smell of bacon frying. Gingerly, he pulled himself out of the bed, turning to look at the indentation in the pillow next to his, just to make certain he hadn't dreamed Arthur sleeping there. Softly, he padded into the kitchen where he found Arthur standing at the stove, an apron wrapped around his waist. He wore his school uniform, as Merlin had directed him to always wear, but the sight of him in it no longer gave Merlin a charge. Now all he felt was a mixture of disgust in himself and a kind of hopeless defeat.  
  
"Oh, you're up," Arthur said, turning. "I hope you're hungry."  
  
"You didn't have to do that," Merlin said, carefully sitting down at the table while unconvincingly trying to hide a wince.  
  
"Sore, huh," Arthur stated, setting a plate of bacon and eggs in front of Merlin.  
  
"Very," Merlin admitted. "This smells really good." He took his fork and tucked in, realizing how very hungry he was. Arthur sat down across from him with his own plate.  
  
"So, being a posh git, how come you can cook?" Merlin asked after a moment.  
  
"I taught myself. I don't like having people do for me," Arthur replied, a little disgruntled at the insult. "It makes me uncomfortable."  
  
"I couldn't tell that by the way you acted around your father," Merlin commented, biting into his third slice of bacon.  
  
"I learned a long time ago that it goes easier with me when I go along with Father. When I move out, I'm going to do as I wish."  
  
"If you're not so fond of dear old dad, then why are you going to these lengths to help him save his company?" Merlin asked, pausing in his eating to study Arthur's face.  
  
Arthur met his gaze candidly. "He is my father, Merlin. I may not agree with him, but I don't want to hurt him."  
  
Merlin looked away. Setting down his fork, he pushed himself up from his seat. "I think I'm going to take some pain medication and go back to bed. I'm--I'm really tired. Thanks for breakfast." He walked away without a backward glance at Arthur.  
  
He knew Arthur had to be confused about Merlin dropping his dominance act, but Merlin wasn't up to explaining that he'd begun to think that he’d been very, very wrong. Not only was Arthur a nice person who didn't deserve the treatment he'd been getting at Merlin's hands, but Merlin had been harboring hatred that had been slowly eating him up inside. He felt foul, and he quite frankly couldn't stand himself. He needed to lie down and let his body recover while he decided what he was going to do.

As Merlin lay in bed staring at the ceiling, he reviewed his time with Arthur, thinking about who Arthur was, as a person in his own right, and what Merlin had done to him.  
  
He also thought about Will's reaction. It was that, coupled with what had happened with Val and Cenred, that had Merlin feeling so very, very out of sorts.   
  
He spent long hours examining his feelings. He had to admit to himself that the moment when Arthur lay face-down on the floor, helpless, and Cenred and Val had made it known that they had every intention of raping him and Merlin might not be able to stop it, Merlin had been utterly and horrifically terrified. And that had been his moment of truth, because he'd known that he would do everything in his power not to let that happen.  
  
It was at that moment Merlin realized he had feelings for Arthur Pendragon, and when the fuck had he let  _that_  happen? Groaning, he turned over in bed, staring at the far wall. He thought about every single thing he'd done to Arthur since his arrival, and Arthur's subsequent reactions. He went over them again and again, feeling himself hardening as he recalled Arthur's squirming and writhing in the throes of passion. Was Merlin getting hard because he caused Arthur pain?  
  
No.

If Merlin had done anything "wrong" in his dealings with Arthur, it had been that, if he really sought to punish him, he  _hadn't_  caused Arthur any real emotional trauma. So what was Merlin's guilt for? Giving Arthur the pleasure he so obviously craved? And Merlin had to admit that it was good for him, too. He loved dominating Arthur, and for reasons other than revenge on what the boy stood for in Merlin's mind. Merlin had a deep-seated need to dominate. He needed that power and control in his life.  
  
Merlin drifted to sleep, all these thoughts heavy on his mind.  
  
When he awoke next, he felt marginally better. In the bathroom, as he showered and brushed his teeth, he thought about Arthur's reaction to Merlin after the living room incident.  
  
Had Arthur been angry with Merlin? No. Had Arthur shown anything but concern for Merlin's condition? No. As Merlin went over all that had happened for the umpteenth time, he realized a few things.  
  
One, Arthur had definitely responded to everything Merlin had done to him, even in front of others.  
  
Two. Arthur seemed to trust him--he'd clung to Merlin’s hand at the club, and obeyed Merlin when he'd told him to get into his room.  
  
Three. Arthur had been concerned for Merlin, and all Merlin had seen on the boy's face since the incident had reinforced that. He'd also seen a confusion and hesitancy at Merlin having dropped his dom persona while he convalesced and thought about things.  
  
Everything in Merlin told him that, now that he'd admitted he had feelings for Arthur--feelings he definitely didn't want--he needed to do something to make certain that Arthur never returned the feelings for him. Because that wouldn't do. If Merlin could think of anything that would label this entire thing a failure, it would be leaving the Pendragon boy with a crush on Merlin, someone who had used him out of revenge. Because then Merlin wouldn’t be any better than Jonathan.  
  
No, Merlin definitely needed to make certain that didn't happen, and now that he'd convinced himself that he was not actually harming the kid, and that Arthur had in fact enjoyed everything he'd done so far, he knew he could do it.  
  
Thus decided, Merlin went out into the living room where he found Arthur reading a book. Arthur looked up at his entrance, his expression uncertain.  
  
"Go change into something other than your uniform," Merlin told him. He didn't want to think about Jonathan anymore. Everything he was doing from now on was for himself. Not for revenge, but for pleasure. And to make certain Arthur left him at the end of the six months never wanting to see Merlin Emrys again.

As Merlin watched Arthur follow his orders, he came to another realization; Arthur's trust in him made Merlin keenly feel his responsibility toward the boy. Arthur was "his" for the time allotted on their contract. His to do what he pleased with, yes, but also his to protect, as he'd done from Cenred and Val. He wondered if that feeling contributed to how he'd come to be fond of the kid. It was going to take every ounce of self-will for Merlin to keep himself in check when dealing with Arthur.  
  
Once Arthur returned in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, Merlin nodded. "We're going out," he told Arthur. "Pull down your pants, get down on your knees, and wait for me here." Merlin pointed to the floor and strode out of the room. When he returned, he was pleased to see that Arthur had done as he bid him--his smooth, white arse faced Merlin, with his balls and cock just visible dangling between his legs. Kneeling behind Arthur, Merlin took a breath for courage.  
  
"This is large, Arthur. Larger than you've taken before. But it's necessary in order to prepare you for my cock. You've seen it, Arthur. My prick is huge. Isn't it."  
  
Arthur nodded.  
  
"Say it, Arthur."  
  
"Y-your prick is huge," Arthur said after a moment.  
  
"That's right. And I have every intention of sticking my huge prick in you and fucking you day and night whenever I damn well please, but I'm not a devil. I don't want to rip you open. So I'm preparing you. Before our little outing today, I'm going to put this in you so you will stretch out nicely while we go shopping." While he'd been talking, Merlin had been slicking up the large, pear-shaped plug. Now he began easing inside of Arthur's puckered hole.  
  
Arthur gasped, then tried to pull away, but Merlin kept pushing until the plug was all the way inside of Arthur, with just the flat base showing.  
  
"Oh, shit!" Arthur groaned. "Fuck! That's got to be way bigger than the last one!"  
  
Merlin slapped Arthur hard on the buttocks. "Shut up and take it!" He growled. Getting to his feet, he ordered Arthur to pull his pants up.   
  
As Merlin watched Arthur's confusion at Merlin’s tone, along with his obvious discomfort at having the large plug inside of him, he turned away and hardened his resolve. He could do this. He  _would_  do this.  
  
"Come along, Arthur. We're going to one of my favorite shops."

Arthur followed Merlin into the large, warehouse-like store, still having trouble walking with the huge plug in his arse. After Merlin had been hurt, Arthur had really thought Merlin was going to give up the game of dominance he'd been playing with Arthur. And that thought had brought both relief...and disappointment. Arthur had to admit to himself that he enjoyed being at Merlin's mercy. Once the initial fear that Merlin might be truly psychotic had worn off and he'd developed a modicum of trust for the other man, Arthur had found that he really got off on being under Merlin's control.  
  
All of his life, Arthur had been in a position of authority over others just because he was wealthy. He'd never enjoyed telling servants what to do, and he'd never taken any pleasure in lording it over employees during the summers his father forced him to work at Pendragon Enterprises. Never had he been told what to do. His father had never enforced rules such as when he could go out or when he had to be home. He'd been allowed to have parties when he wanted and basically do whatever he wanted, as long as it stayed out of the news. Sometimes Arthur just longed to be told 'no.'  
  
As he walked about the store with Merlin, Arthur looked at the walls full of sex toys and props. He wondered what exactly Merlin was looking for. After he paused for several minutes to look through a display of videos, he turned around to see Merlin coming toward him with several things in his hands. He wasn't sure what they were, but his prick stirred at the knowledge that they were all meant for him.  
  
When they returned to the car, Merlin wasted no time in taking out a thin, black collar with a steel ring in the front and fitting it around Arthur's neck. He started the car and drove to another store, this one smaller and more intimate. They browsed the shelves.  
  
"Would you like to choose your paddle?" Merlin asked as they came to an array of them hanging on a wall.  
  
Arthur bit his lip, looking them over. He knew it would be better for him to just choose rather than leaving it up to Merlin, who might get angry and choose something intolerable. They were all pretty similar, although some had holes. Arthur knew enough about air resistance to avoid those and pointed to a regular, flat paddle that just happened to have the world SLUT painted on it.  
  
"Mmm, good choice," Merlin said, taking it off its hanger. "Now let's go over here to the clothes. I'm going to pick something out for you to wear around the flat." He began swishing through hangers. "Ah, yes, this." He held up a pair of leather pants that were completely missing the crotch and rear. "I rather like the thought of your package and ass hanging out all day long," Merlin told him, a gleam in his eyes. He picked out a few more things, but Arthur didn't notice what they were. He was drifting in a desire-filled fog, suddenly wanting Merlin so badly, he couldn't stand it.  
  
"How's the plug?" Merlin asked rather loudly. Several heads turned, and Arthur felt himself coloring.  
  
"It's fine," he murmured.

Merlin hooked a finger in the ring on Arthur's collar and pulled him toward the counter, where he laid out all his purchases. The guy ringing them up eyed Arthur as he ran each item over the scanner. "He's a pretty one," he commented to Merlin, as though Arthur were a child.  
  
"Yes," Merlin answered.   
  
"Likes to be paddled, does he?"  
  
"Very much. Say, do you know where I can get a drink around here?"  
  
The man smiled and handed Merlin a card. When they left the place, it was just getting dark. Merlin drove for a good ten minutes before finding the place he was looking for. When they walked in, Arthur was shocked when Merlin pulled a leash out of his pocket and hooked it to Arthur's collar. He led Arthur into a room largely filled with men, and Arthur highly suspected that the few women he saw were really male underneath. There was some kind of competition going on near the front, where men wearing collars like himself were being paraded down a catwalk on leashes, their penises on open display. Whistles and lewd comments filled the room.   
  
Merlin ordered a gin and tonic, but he gave Arthur water. As he drank, Merlin slung an arm around Arthur's shoulders, casually fingering Arthur's nipple through the thin fabric of his shirt. Arthur's dick ached to be touched, and no matter how he shifted on the chair, the huge plug dug into his prostate. "God, Merlin," he groaned.  
  
Merlin looked at him. "Horny, are you? What would you like me to do about it?"  
  
"Shit, anything! Something! Please..."  
  
"Are you begging me?" Merlin asked, brow raised. He brought his hand up and gripped Arthur's hair, pulling his face close and running his tongue over Arthur's lips suggestively.  
  
Arthur groaned again, trying to kiss Merlin back, but Merlin's hand in his hair kept him at a distance.  
  
"I don't know, Arthur. I'm having a drink, here. If you want me to take you home, I'll have to give you a spanking when we get there for making me leave earlier than I'd planned. Is that what you want?"  
  
Arthur swallowed, considering. When he was quiet for a few moments, Merlin turned his attention to the men on stage.   
  
"You know, your cock is really prettier than any of those up there..."

"Let's go home," Arthur said decidedly, before Merlin could get him up on that stage with his cock hanging out. Merlin seemed to be thinking it over, and Arthur could feel his hands getting clammy as he waited for Merlin’s reply. Finally, Merlin stood and yanked on the leash.  
  
"Come on, then."  
  
They meandered their way out of the crowded bar. Just before reaching the door, a tall man with a black beard and multiple piercings stopped them. He had a thin red-headed man pressed to his side. "Care to go in a back room and have a little trade?" the man addressed Merlin. Arthur's eyes met the red-head's, but he couldn't read anything in them. Although Arthur felt fairly sure Merlin wouldn't agree to it, his heart still jumped in fear at the thought. He also experienced a spark of jealousy at the thought of Merlin touching the red-head.  
  
"No, thanks. We're out of here," Merlin replied, tugging at Arthur's leash and leading him out at a quick pace that had Arthur struggling to keep up with him, what with the large plug lodged in between his arse cheeks.  
  
As they drove home, Merlin kept up a litany of dirty talk. Every time Arthur moved his hand toward his cock, whether to stroke himself or to just adjust, Merlin barked, "Don't touch yourself!" and Arthur put his hands down.  
  
"You'll be surprised, Arthur, once I get to fucking you, how my piercing will increase your enjoyment. You said you’ve never been fucked by a man?"  
  
Arthur shook his head.  
  
"Say 'no sir,'" Merlin directed.  
  
"No, sir."  
  
"That's better. Well, you are going to be in for a surprise, that's for certain. But first, your spanking. Don't think I've forgotten about that. I don't appreciate being coerced to leave a place just after I got there. And I think you would have won that cock contest. Yours is quite nice...long and plump, just the way I like them."  
  
Arthur swallowed. Why was it taking so long to get back to Merlin's? He was on fire with anticipation, although he was a little scared, too. Was Merlin really going to fuck him?

Finally, they pulled into the parking garage. As they rode the lift upward, Merlin crowded Arthur into a corner and ran his hands all over him. By the time the doors opened into the penthouse, Arthur was breathing hard. Merlin tossed one of the bags at Arthur. "Put the pants on I bought you," he directed. Arthur retreated to the bathroom and did as he was told. He heard pounding coming from another room, and wondered what Merlin was doing. He glanced into the mirror. The leather pants hugged his thighs. His cock and balls were completely exposed. He turned around, peering over his shoulder into the mirror. So was his arse.   
  
Nerve-endings alive with expectation, Arthur came out into the hall.   
  
"Come into my room, Arthur," Merlin called to him. Arthur crossed the threshold to find Merlin seated on a chair, paddle in hand. Merlin's eyes traveled over Arthur's body in a way that made Arthur hot. He felt his dick hardening, and blushed when he realized Merlin was watching it with a smirk on his face. "Oh, yes. You enjoy the attention, don't you? You like exposing yourself to me like this. Those pants look brilliant on you. I love how I can see my initial twinkling on your sac. Come here, Arthur, and turn around."  
  
Arthur walked toward him, turning so that his back was to Merlin's face. Arthur could feel Merlin's warm breath on his arse as Merlin ran a hand over it. Merlin tugged on Arthur's hand, silently directing him to move to his side and bend over Merlin's legs. Arthur's dick and balls hung between Merlin's knees, and Merlin gently closed them on them, making Arthur gasp. Before he could prepare himself, the paddle came down on Arthur’s rear, right near the plug, and Arthur cried out.  
  
"I'm going to paddle you twenty times, Arthur, and you're going to count. That was one."  
  
"One," Arthur gasped. Merlin hit him again. "Two."  
  
Time seemed to slow as Arthur counted out his paddling. His arse cheeks burned with every hit, and the butt plug jolted inside him, making him yell in spite of his determination not to. He tried to move, but with his entire package held between Merlin's knees, he couldn't. His still-sensitive piercing rubbed against Merlin's pants, and the sensation wasn't a good one.  
  
"See, it's very naughty of you to try to tell me what to do, Arthur."  _slap_  
  
"Nine." Arthur's voice quavered. When the numbers reached double digits, his arse was flaming hot and he imagined very red, and Merlin wasn't letting up. If anything, the slaps were getting harder.  
  
"Twenty." Arthur clenched his teeth around the word, then yelped when Merlin gave the plug in his arse a twist before popping it out.


	7. Losing It

It was quickly replaced by a questing finger. Thinking about having a piece of Merlin inside of him almost made Arthur orgasm on the spot, except the base of his dick and his very sensitive balls were being squeezed between Merlin’s legs and wouldn’t allow it. The sweet slide of Merlin’s finger increased in speed, and Arthur cried out in spite of the fact that his arse burned and all the blood had rushed to his head. He stared at the beige carpet as Merlin continued to finger fuck him. He felt it when Merlin crooked his finger inside of him, swiping at Arthur’s prostate and wringing a long groan out of him.

“Oh, that paddle with the word Slut on it really was made for you, wasn’t it?” Merlin said gleefully as he added another finger and scissored Arthur open. “I have half a mind to paddle you some more…make that hot, red arse even redder. Looks a bit like an apple as it is.” Arthur could hear his own heart thumping in his ears, and outside of that, Merlin’s heavy breathing and the squish of his lubed fingers moving in and out of Arthur’s hole.

“Oh, God, Merlin…” Arthur gasped, trying to wiggle. Merlin added a third finger, and Arthur keened.

Then, suddenly, there was nothing.

Arthur hung, gasping, over Merlin’s legs, waiting.

Long moments ticked by before Merlin said, “Get on the bed,” and opened his legs to release his hold on Arthur’s privates.

Arthur sagged off, falling to his knees before he scrambled up onto shaking legs. He felt Merlin’s eyes upon him as he moved across the room to the large bed and climbed up on it. When his sore arse hit the bedspread, he winced.

“Onto your knees,” Merlin directed, standing up and unbuckling his pants. Arthur did as he was told, his breathing speeding up. There was a mirror hanging behind Merlin’s bed, and he found himself looking directly into it. He felt the bed dip, and then watched as a naked Merlin climbed onto it behind him.

“Yes, do you see, Arthur? I’m hard for you.”

And he was. Merlin’s sex jutted out from his body like a curved sword, the piercing gleaming at the top of it. Arthur’s heart almost stopped in his chest just imagining it entering him.

“I’m not going to rape you, Arthur,” Merlin said hoarsely. “You’re going to have to ask for it.”

 _Oh, God._ “P-please.” Arthur managed to splutter.

“Please, what?” Merlin asked, rubbing his piercing over Arthur’s sore behind. Arthur looked at himself in the mirror…the leather pants and his bare, red ass stuck up in the air. Then he watched as Merlin bent his head and licked first one butt cheek, then the other. Arthur lost his breath for a moment.

“P-please…” He couldn’t form a thought, much less the words he needed.

Merlin swiped his tongue over Arthur’s sore buttocks again before placing the tip of his finger on Arthur’s hole and rubbing it. Arthur sobbed. “You’re going to have to tell me, Arthur. And be specific.” Merlin bent his head and sucked a love bite on Arthur’s right arse cheek. It was possessive and painful and hot as hell.

“I…want you to-to fuck me.”

“Sir,” Merlin corrected.

“Sir. Fuck me, sir. Please.”

Arthur saw Merlin smile in the mirror, then watched as he got into position, smacking Arthur’s hole a bit with his cock before pressing it to the opening. “Watch, Arthur. You’re about to lose your virginity—find out what it’s like to be fucked by a man,” Merlin directed softly, and Arthur’s eyes moved to the mirror again.

It didn’t hurt as Arthur expected. Perhaps the large plug had stretched him sufficiently, or maybe he was so relaxed and horny he just couldn’t feel anymore, but no…he _definitely_ felt that…the slide of Merlin’s cock, the widening of his passage, the— _oh, fuck—_ prodding of that evil piercing against Arthur’s prostate. Arthur watched his own face contort, his eyes glaze and his mouth fall open.

“Don’t touch yourself,” Merlin ordered as Arthur’s hand crept toward his cock. Merlin began to move in and out, and Arthur closed his eyes. “Look in the mirror, Arthur!” Merlin demanded, “and watch me fuck your virgin arse!”

Merlin began to thrust rhythmically. Arthur saw his own face transform into something wild and wanton as Merlin pushed inside of him over and over again, taking him apart piece by piece. Then Arthur’s eyes shifted to Merlin’s face—at the bitten lip, the tense mouth, the fight for control, and Arthur wanted to take that look off his face. He surged backward, slamming his arse into Merlin, wrenching a cry from the other man’s lips that was definitely _not_ controlled. Arthur did it again, and again, until Merlin was swearing, gripping Arthur’s hips like a vice and slamming into him until he jerked and yelled out. Watching Merlin climax made Arthur’s cock jump and he spurted over the bed, watching in the mirror as they both came completely undone.

Arthur thought he must have passed out, for the next thing he knew, something cool and heavenly was being rubbed onto his butt cheeks. Then the lights went out, and he was left alone.

~~O~~

 

Arthur didn’t see Merlin for the next three days. He didn’t sleep with Arthur that night, even though Arthur was in Merlin’s bed, and he left a note the following morning that he was going to be busy and away from the flat all day. Arthur continued to wear the crotchless pants, because he was supposed to, and he didn’t know at what moment Merlin might return, but he felt weird walking around with all his stuff hanging out, and his rear end was still sore. At night, however, he slept in the nude, and he dreamed of Merlin.

When he’d returned to his own room the day after he’d awoken in Merlin’s bed, Arthur found that there were steel rings in the wall above his bed, placed several feet apart. He wondered what they were for and was afraid to think too deeply on it. As each day passed, he wondered when Merlin would appear and what he would do when he did. The wait was agonizing.

On the morning of the fourth day, Arthur awoke to find Merlin at the table, eating breakfast. Merlin’s eyes ran over Arthur’s body attired in the leather pants and a crisp, white shirt, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, he got up and fixed Arthur a plate of eggs and toast.

“I thought we might go out for a bit today,” Merlin said. “A movie, perhaps.”

Arthur thought getting out of the flat would feel very good, and he was glad when Merlin drove them across town to small, uncrowded theater. He still worried about running into friends. The movie was stupid and uninteresting, but Arthur hardly cared, what with Merlin running his thumb over Arthur’s dick through his jeans. He wanted Merlin so badly, he was almost sick with it, so when Merlin pushed him into the men’s room on the way out and then into a stall, he didn’t protest. Before Arthur knew exactly what was happening, or even if the bathroom was vacant, Merlin had Arthur's pants around his knees and his cock up his arse. Somehow Merlin had lubed himself up, because the slide was easy, and Arthur found himself whimpering against the grey wall, his hands clasped over the top, as Merlin plunged into him over and over again.

“Missed this, didn’t you?” Merlin whispered in Arthur’s ear as he fucked him. When his hand came around and fondled Arthur’s nuts, Arthur came all over the toilet paper dispenser. It took only a few more thrusts, and Merlin followed him, letting go afterward and cleaning them both up.

On the way home, Merlin stopped at an outdoor café, where they had lunch. Arthur found himself staring at Merlin’s face. His pretty lips that Arthur had only gotten to taste a few times, and his gloriously sharp cheekbones.

“Continue looking at me like that, Arthur, and I’ll have to find a closet to fuck you in,” Merlin warned him. Arthur blushed and looked away. “I have a little outing planned for us one night this week,” Merlin told him. “There are really so many things I want to do with you, it’s difficult to choose one. But I think tonight I know what I want to do.”

They continued eating, and Arthur found he had difficulty swallowing after that little announcement. When they returned to the car, Merlin unzipped his pants and took out his cock, which was semi-hard. “This is what your staring at me over lunch did to me, Arthur. Now you’re going to have to help me out with it. Suck me.” He looked at Arthur expectantly. Arthur stared at Merlin’s cock, wanting it badly. Bending down, he swiped over it with his tongue, lingering on the little gold ball at the tip. Merlin took a breath and Arthur felt him watching as he lowered his mouth and took Merlin’s cock in, sucking hungrily. It wasn’t long before Merlin was bucking up into him, grasping at Arthur’s hair and muttering curse words as Arthur’s spit ran out of his mouth and trickled onto Merlin's constricting nuts. When he came, Arthur sucked him dry, swallowing it all. He leaned back up and fell into his seat, his own cock painfully hard in his jeans.

 


	8. A Shift

 

Merlin had been avoiding Will’s calls, and when he did speak to him, he made excuses and hung up quickly. He had to keep his mind focused on what he was doing, and that was difficult enough. Every time he had a particularly intense interlude with Arthur, such as the first time he fucked him, it took Merlin days to get over it and refocus. Now that he’d gone this far, he found himself insatiable for it, and he had to get past that. He had to fuck Arthur out of his system before he ended all this, for that’s what he’d decided he must do.

Because he would never, ever make it the full six months unscathed.

As it was, Merlin figured he’d have to go off somewhere and recover. This whole thing—the way Arthur enjoyed it, the way he tried to return the pleasure Merlin gave him, was slowly but surely breaking Merlin. He wasn’t strong enough to survive it. He was smart enough to realize that the tables had been turning practically since the day Arthur had come to stay with him, and pretty soon Merlin was going to be the loser if he didn’t do something about it.

Added to that was the fact that, dammit, Merlin was beginning to truly _care_ about Arthur, and he knew that Arthur cared about him, even after Merlin had turned up the heat. Everything he tried to do in order to anger Arthur only seemed to make him want more.

But Merlin still had a few tricks up his sleeve. By the time he ended this, he hoped Arthur would never want to see his face again.

His mobile buzzed in his pocket, and Merlin took it out, sighing when he saw that it was Will. Arthur was in the shower, so Merlin sat down on the couch and answered it.

“Merlin, how nice of you to actually pick up for a change!” Will said sarcastically.

“Sorry, mate, been busy lately.”

“I gathered as much, but the question is, busy doing what? Anyway, I won’t keep you, but I wanted to tell you I have an appointment in London Monday and hoped you’d meet me for lunch around noon. Maybe at that little bistro we like.”

Merlin rubbed his forehead. Will rarely made it to town; he couldn’t turn him down.

“Sure. It’ll be great to see you, Will.”

“Yeah. I really need to see you, Merlin. Don’t forget—noon. I have to go.” He rang off.

It was several minutes later when Merlin stopped to wonder what the strange note in Will’s voice had been, but that was soon wiped from his mind when Arthur appeared from the steaming bathroom completely nude.

Merlin stood with his mouth open for several seconds before clamping it shut and ordering Arthur into his bedroom.

“Onto your back,” he told him as he began to undress himself. Arthur’s skin shown all pink and clean from the shower, and Merlin wanted to lick him all over. He had to grab his own cock and squeeze it hard in order to slow things down a bit. Opening a drawer in the dresser, he got out four pairs of cuffs and strapped them onto Arthur’s wrists and ankles. Just the way the kid looked at him, his gaze so unwavering and fucking _trusting_ undid Merlin in ways he didn’t like to think about. He took a length of leather with hooked fasteners at the ends and affixed them to the cuffs and the hooks he’d attached to the wall, until Arthur’s legs and arms were raised and spread open, his bum lifted several inches off the bed.

Arthur squirmed a little as Merlin looked his fill. Next, Merlin took a ball gag out of the drawer and ordered Arthur to open his mouth. He put the ball between Arthur’s teeth, which kept his mouth opened wide, and snapped the straps behind his head. Then he settled in between Arthur’s legs and began feasting on his arse.

Arthur’s eyes widened before clenching shut, as Merlin applied his tongue to him, licking and sucking at his puckered hole until Arthur’s prick became rock hard and leaked onto his tense stomach muscles. The noises Arthur made around the gag had Merlin stroking his own cock. He pointed his tongue and jabbed at Arthur’s hole, fucking him with it. Arthur moaned and wiggled. He looked so beautiful hanging there…Merlin brought his hands up and pulled Arthur’s cheeks open with his thumbs and spit into his hole, pushing the saliva in with his tongue. Then he got to his knees, looking down at Arthur, who was sweating, breathing hard, his eyes wild as he hung there like a sacrifice. Arthur’s prick pointed almost straight up, it was so hard, the diamond M sparkling just beneath it.

Merlin stroked his own cock.

“I’m going to fuck you now, Arthur,” he said, and Arthur groaned, his eyes rolling back in his head as Merlin pushed inside him. Merlin knew he wouldn’t last long, not with Arthur hanging there beneath him, moaning and writhing as Merlin speared him relentlessly with his cock. Just as Merlin’s climax began to build, Arthur arched his back, his prick spurting all over his stomach, some of the spunk hitting Arthur’s chin. Merlin shattered at the sight, pushing farther inside Arthur as he ejaculated into him.

When he pulled out, Merlin hurriedly unbound Arthur and escaped from the room.

***

Arthur lay recovering, his breathing slowing after the intensely hot experience. He’d been a little scared when Merlin tied him to the wall and then gagged him, but the feeling of Merlin’s tongue on him _down there_ —he’d only read about such things. It had felt so good, so dark and forbidden. Seeing Merlin’s dark head between Arthur’s spread legs had been deliciously humiliating yet titillating. Being unable to move, hanging there like Arthur didn’t know what, had made him feel so many extraordinary things at once.

And then Merlin had left the room, escaping Arthur. Arthur wondered if the man hated him. For the millionth time, Arthur tried to work out why Merlin was even doing this in the first place. The man was a complete mystery.

Sometimes, when Merlin looked at Arthur, Arthur could swear he saw something there behind the mask of dominance. Particularly when Merlin was vulnerable, like after his nightmare or when he’d been hurt by Valiant. But other times, such as now, it was so painfully obvious that Merlin didn’t want to be around Arthur for anything other than sex.

Arthur took a sip from the glass of water that Merlin had left by the side of the bed, thinking how Merlin always took care of him in such ways. He always made sure he stayed hydrated after sex, and that he ate regular meals, and he always took care of things such as making sure Arthur’s piercing healed and his bum was soothed after a spanking. These things spoke of care, Arthur sometimes thought, but other times he thought maybe it was just Merlin keeping his property intact and avoiding a lawsuit.

And who was the Jonathan person Merlin had spoken of during his nightmare? A lover that he missed? The thought made Arthur so jealous, he couldn’t stand it.

More than anything, Arthur longed to be free to touch Merlin. To run his hands over him and give him pleasure. There had to be some way he could bring this about. Merlin had only ever kissed Arthur a handful of times, and Arthur longed for that intimacy. Had this Jonathan person been allowed all these things?

Disgruntled and bereft, Arthur pulled the covers around himself and went to sleep.


	9. A Secret Intrusion

 

Arthur didn’t see Merlin at all the following day until very late that night when he came out of his room and announced they were going out. “Keep those pants on,” he ordered Arthur. “And don’t wear a shirt.”

Arthur looked down at his dangling privates. Merlin was making him go out this way?

Merlin took a tube of lube out of his pocket and told Arthur to bend over the kitchen table.

Arthur’s heart stammered in his chest as he obeyed, gasping as Merlin spread Arthur’s legs by kicking at his feet and then pressed down on his back with one hand, keeping him still. Arthur felt his arse cheeks spread open, then a cold touch of something to his hole. Lube, cold and wet, dribbled into his body. A lot of it. A snug plug followed.

“Okay, Arthur, you’re ready now,” Merlin said with a slap to Arthur’s naked butt. “Let’s go.”

Arthur didn’t say anything, just straightened and followed. Merlin had him wear a coat until they were safely in his car, and then he told Arthur to remove it. Arthur sat shivering a bit in the crotchless pants, the plug in his wet arse making him feel full and needy.

“I’ve been thinking about last night,” Merlin told him as they drove through the darkness. His voice was pure silk, and the sound of it immediately did things to Arthur between his legs. “I’ve been thinking how your arse tasted…so good. And how it felt to have my tongue inside you.”

Arthur shifted in his seat, embarrassed that his cock was responding to Merlin’s words.

“And how you looked hanging there, helpless. I could do absolutely anything I wanted to you. I definitely want to hang you up like that again. _Fuck_ you like that again.” Merlin glanced down at Arthur’s hardening prick, and Arthur blushed. “I see you liked it, too. I’m not so sure you’ll like what we’re about to do, but we’ll see.”

Arthur didn’t know exactly what he’d been expecting, but it wasn’t _this._ He stared out the window in wonder as Merlin pulled into the neighborhood of looming mansions with perfectly manicured lawns and then drove into the familiar driveway and straight past the guard at the front of Arthur’s house. Arthur could have sworn the man intentionally turned his back to them.

“Everyone has his price,” Merlin told him, as though he’d read his thoughts. They got out of the car, and Arthur followed Merlin to the entrance, which was conveniently unlocked, the security alarm evidently turned off.

Arthur wondered where the staff was, but soon forgot about it as Merlin put a finger to his lips and beckoned him to follow him up the wide spiral staircase that led to the bedrooms upstairs.

Arthur held his breath. _What the fuck was Merlin doing?_ He almost swallowed his tongue when they stopped outside Uther’s bedroom door.

“Merlin…” Arthur whispered urgently, putting a hand on the man’s arm to stop him. Merlin only gave him a hard look and pushed the door open.

The bedroom was dark, lit only by the faint rays of moonlight coming through the balcony windows. Arthur could make out two forms in the four poster bed, and he stepped closer, shocked to see that his father’s companion was none other than Arthur’s friend from uni, Mithian, someone he’d brought home with him many times. Someone he’d even dated occasionally. His mouth dropped open. Mithian lay tangled in the sheets, the upper portion of her body completely nude, and Uther lay on his side, his hand possessively cupping her bare breast.

Arthur felt sick. Mithian was no more than twenty-one years old! He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. For a moment, he forgot all about Merlin, until he heard a small sound from the other side of the bed. Merlin stood well within Uther’s line of vision, if the man were to wake up and open his eyes. Merlin pointed to where he wanted Arthur to stand, and when Arthur reluctantly complied, Merlin dropped to his knees before him. Arthur tensed, unable to believe that Merlin was planning on blowing him right there in Uther’s presence, but that was precisely what he began to do. The first swipe of Merlin’s tongue made Arthur gasp so loudly that he really thought Uther would wake up. He held his breath, waiting, but nothing happened. Merlin didn’t seem to be worried, as he continued to torment Arthur with his mouth. Arthur couldn’t help it…he brought his hands up to tangle in Merlin’s hair, one eye still focused on his father as Merlin expertly sucked Arthur toward climax, alternately torturing him by deep throating him, then pulling away to suck and nibble on his sack before doing it all over again.

Arthur had to bite the inside of his mouth, hard, not to shout as he spurted into Merlin’s hot mouth. When Merlin removed his lips with a wet _pop_ , and Arthur valiantly tried not to fall over with weakness, movement in the bed caused them both to freeze. Arthur’s heart sped up, and Merlin tugged his leg until he dropped to the plush carpet beside him.

They lay flattened there, listening for sounds from the high antique bed.

“Mmmm…Oh, Uther, yes.” Mithian’s voice. Arthur bit his lip harder.

More rustling, then Uther’s throaty laugh. The bed creaked, and Arthur could barely see Mithian rise up and straddle his father.

_Oh, fucking hell, no._

The subsequent sex was punctuated with Uther’s cries and Mithian’s gasps and pleas for more, and _oh, fuck, harder, Uther!_ Arthur’s stomach hurt. He wanted to run away. He couldn’t look at Merlin’s face beside him in the darkness, knowing he listened, too. Arthur heard Uther flip Mithian over and begin driving into her from the back. _Oh, shit, Uther, yes! Fuck my arse! Yes!_

And then Merlin tugged at Arthur, forcing him to quietly get to his feet and run with him in a crouch out of the room. They paused outside the door to make sure the couple in the bed hadn’t heard them, but they were still going at it, the headboard knocking loudly against the wall.

Merlin took Arthur’s hand and led him down the stairs. Arthur’s legs shook; he just wanted to leave, to get far away. But Merlin tugged him through a door and Arthur found himself in his father’s office. He looked questioningly at Merlin, who only gave him a feral smile and pushed him toward the desk, forcing him to bend over it.

Out came the plug, and in went Merlin’s hard dick, driving into Arthur over and over again as Arthur’s upper half pressed into the fine cherry wood of his father’s desk.

“I’ve been wanting to take you over Daddy’s desk ever since I watched you sign the contract,” Merlin said, his voice shaking as he plunged into Arthur relentlessly. The desk felt cold on Arthur’s bare chest and stomach, and his bare privates smashed against some papers and folders. Arthur couldn’t believe he was there…on his father’s desk…being fucked by a man. He could hear Merlin slapping against him every time he slid into him, and unbelievably, feel his own climax building, beginning in the very tips of his toes and then climbing higher, tightening his nuts. The piercing on Merlin’s cock touched him inside on every thrust…it was incredible. Arthur let out a moan, and Merlin’s rhythm stuttered. Arthur felt the moment Merlin let go, increasing the speed of his hips, and then they were both groaning, calling out each other’s names until they came within seconds of one another.


	10. Everything Changes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a little short, but better short than nothing, right?

Merlin stood and smiled when he saw Will coming toward him. It had been several months since he’d last seen his friend, and the hug they shared was tight and heart-felt.

“I ordered you a beer,” Merlin told him as they took their seats in the small bistro. “How have you been?”

“I’ve been better,” Will said, his mouth turning down at the corners. His boyish face was lined with his troubles, and Merlin immediately felt terrible that he hadn’t kept in proper touch with his oldest friend. “But I don’t want to get into that yet. Let’s just enjoy a meal and talk about old times for a while.”

They ordered and laughed over their teenage exploits in Ealdor until their sides ached. They ate their food and discussed mutual friends. Merlin didn’t talk about Arthur or the contract, and Will didn’t disclose what problems he had on his mind. Over an hour later, when all that was left of their meal was crumpled napkins and the dreg of their beer, Will’s face sobered, and he finally gave Merlin the reason for his trip to London.

“I had an appointment with a doctor that I’ve seen once before. A cancer specialist.”

Merlin’s heart dropped to his feet. “Cancer?” he breathed. “You have it?” _No. No! It couldn’t happen to Will—funny, silly, grouchy Will._

Will nodded. “Good news is it’s treatable. I’m going to the states to see someone there that the specialist recommended. It’s going to be a couple of intense months. That’s why I wanted to see you.”

“So you’ve been to London to see this doctor and didn’t tell me?’ Merlin felt numb.

“Yeah, a few weeks ago.” Will looked down into his beer. “I’m sorry, Merlin. I just couldn’t talk about it then. I don’t really even want to talk about it now. I’ll tell you all the gory details about where it is and what they’re going to do later, yeah?”

“Okay.” Merlin swallowed. “When do you leave for the states?”

“Friday. I’ve wrapped things up, and from here I’m heading for Ealdor to visit Mum. Then I’ll be off.”

Merlin didn’t know what to say. Will was his oldest and truest friend. Merlin had actually come there thinking he’d confide in Will about Arthur and all that…mess. Confess all he’d done and how he was in over his head and things were only getting worse. Let Will talk him into doing the right thing, because that’s what Merlin knew he needed to do. Now he didn’t know what to say. “Do you—need me to do anything for you, Willy?” he asked, reverting to the name he used to use when they were kids.

The veil fell away from Will’s eyes and the raw truth stared Merlin in the face—there was definitely something Merlin could do.

 

***

Arthur had had plenty of time on his hands since the night Merlin had taken him to the Pendragon mansion where Arthur had witnessed his father having sex with Mithian. Merlin had been oddly silent when Arthur had told him who Mithian was, and had stayed away from the flat almost entirely since then. Arthur had wondered more than once how the whole thing between his father and Mithian had started, and if his father was accustomed to pulling young girls. It made Arthur sick, but it did something else for him, too. It destroyed that part of him that had been ashamed for his father to know he was a homosexual. He didn’t care if Uther found out anymore. He didn’t respect his father anymore. In fact, it took this to make him realize that his father had had no right to do what he’d done to him—virtually sold him to Merlin for the rights to a game.

And that made Arthur take another look at Merlin and what he was doing.

True, Arthur would be lying if he said he hadn’t enjoyed every single thing Merlin had done so far, but six months was a long time to be someone’s love slave, and Merlin had escalated their activities so much that Arthur was wondering how much more hard-core things would get. Merlin had told Arthur more than once that he could stop what was happening by telling him it was too much, and so far it had never been too much for Arthur. Even being forced to suck Merlin off in his father’s slumbering presence hadn’t been too much. Only the sight of Mithian in his father’s bed had really upset Arthur, and that wasn’t something Merlin had planned on. But Arthur wanted something different from Merlin, and tonight, if Merlin actually showed up, he was going to ask for it.

He fully expected Merlin to turn him down cold.

***

When Merlin walked into his flat after leaving Will at the train station, he felt like a zombie. His mind was dead. His feelings were dead. He didn’t know where he was or what he was doing. And then there was Arthur, looking concerned, checking him for injury, leading him into Merlin’s room where Arthur helped him undress and pushed him into the shower.

When Merlin simply stood under the spray, staring at the wall, Arthur took his own clothes off and got in with him, soaping him up like he was a little kid, and even shampooing his hair.

When he was out, and the feelings began to creep past the numbness, Merlin became a sobbing mess that left Arthur staring at him wide-eyed and frightened. And who could blame the kid? Bad-assed Merlin Emrys, the dom who’d run Arthur’s life for weeks, was now a shivering, crying, useless mess. It was so ludicrous that Merlin soon began to chuckle at the thought and then to laugh great big belly laughs that hurt his stomach. And he couldn’t stop. He laughed until he was sobbing again, sitting on the floor of his bedroom, his wet hair dripping onto his face and mingling with his tears. Arthur sat next to him, ineffectually patting his back and murmuring banal platitudes that made Merlin want to laugh again, such as “there, there,” “everything will be all right,” and even “things will look brighter in the morning.”

“Tell me what’s wrong,” Arthur said softly when Merlin finally dried out and sat staring stonily at the floor. With a shuddery sigh, Merlin stood on shaking legs, dropped his towel, and crawled under the soft duvet on his bed.

“Please tell me, Merlin.”

Merlin felt the tears leaking out of his eyes again. “A friend of mine is sick. Very sick,” he told Arthur, his voice sounding clogged and hoarse.

“I’m sorry,” Arthur said, on his knees by Merlin’s bed and brushing the hair out of his eyes with gentle fingers. “Is there anything I can do?”

Merlin studied him for a long moment. The beautiful blond hair, the rosy lips, the aristocratic nose and deep, deep blue eyes that made Merlin’s insides squirm and heart race.

“Yes, Arthur, there is. You can go home.”


	11. Give Him What he Wants and Needs

“What?” Arthur thought he’d heard wrong.

“Go home, Arthur. I release you from your contract. I’ll have my lawyer draw it up all legal and on paper for you.” Merlin rubbed his eyes with his fingers.

“But…why?” Arthur asked, confused.

Merlin barked out a laugh. “Does it matter? You should pack your stuff and run!”

“I don’t want to run,” Arthur said quietly, and Merlin turned his head on the bed to stare at him.

“Tonight, I wanted to ask you to do something for me,” Arthur told Merlin quietly.

“Arthur…you need to go.”

Arthur removed the towel from around his waist and crawled into bed next to Merlin, his body seeking Merlin’s bare skin. He heard Merlin’s quick intake of breath and felt his body tremble. “I don’t want to go, Merlin. And I don’t want to be dominated. Tonight I want to be in control. Will you let me have that?”

“Arthur…”

“Please, Merlin. If you feel anything at all for me, please…”

Merlin turned onto his side to face Arthur, and Arthur could see his eyes shining in the moonlight from the window. They were such expressive eyes—he could see in them the moment when Merlin surrendered.

Arthur’s gaze moved down to Merlin’s lips. Leaning forward, he pressed his mouth to them, licking them gently, coaxing them open.

He hadn’t gotten to kiss Merlin nearly enough in the time he’d been there. He’d always had the feeling that Merlin withheld his kisses because they made him feel too much. Of course, Arthur wasn’t sure if this was true, but he liked to think it was. He scooted closer to Merlin on the bed, and Merlin made a weak noise of protest as Arthur encircled him in his arms, reveling in the skin-on-skin contact. He could feel every hair on Merlin’s body as he moved against him. Arthur broke away from Merlin’s mouth, trailing kisses over his jaw and neck until his lips rested behind Merlin’s left ear where the skin was soft and sensitive. Merlin moaned as Arthur licked and nibbled him there, Merlin’s hands tightening around Arthur’s waist, pulling him in close until their cocks touched. Arthur jumped reflexively, thrusting his hips in for more contact. He could feel the metal ball of Merlin’s piercing sliding against his cock, and the sensation took his breath for a moment. Leaning his head back, Arthur gave in to the moan that traveled up his throat and past his lips before swooping down with his mouth for more of Merlin’s pillowy soft lips, his tongue plunging past them to explore.

Merlin responded to Arthur’s love-making in a way that lit Arthur afire, Merlin’s body arching off the bed and his mouth making filthy noises of need and want that drove Arthur to cover Merlin’s neck and shoulders with kisses and love bites. The feel of Merlin’s hands on Arthur’s arse, pressing their groins closer, was intoxicating. Dizzy with desire, Arthur tried to articulate his thoughts.

“Merlin, I want to…let me…”

Merlin cupped Arthur’s face in his hands and kissed him so tenderly that Arthur forgot everything else for long moments as their tongues slid together. Then Merlin rolled over so that his back was to Arthur, and he faced the wall.

At first, Arthur didn’t understand, but then, when Merlin bent his left knee, bringing it up close to his chest, Arthur knew Merlin was giving him permission, and he took a deep breath and reached for the lubricant Merlin kept in the drawer of the nightstand.

When he had enough on his fingers, Arthur reached in between Merlin’s cheeks and spread the jelly-like substance into the crevice, pushing gently at Merlin’s entrance until his finger breeched it. Sliding it in, Arthur pressed his lips to Merlin’s neck, sucking lightly as Merlin pushed back against his questing digit. The sensation of having Merlin’s body gripping Arthur’s finger was sexy as hell, and when Arthur thought of that same tight channel clenching his cock, he got light-headed.

Arthur’s name on Merlin’s lips did crazy things to Arthur’s heart. He nibbled on Merlin’s ear and slid two fingers inside of him. After he tried three fingers, Arthur hurried to replace them with his cock, gasping as he slid into Merlin’s tight, hot rectum. He’d never felt such heat before. It was as if his cock was being held in a hot vice. When he was halfway in, Merlin pushed back against him and Arthur was suddenly up to the hilt in Merlin’s arse. He let out a whimper, and Merlin reached back and stroked Arthur’s leg, reassuring him.

Arthur began to thrust, gently at first, then harder and faster. He’d never felt such pleasure centered on his cock…it was paradise.

“Arthur…” Merlin moaned, “oh, Arthur, God…you’re so big inside me…”

Emboldened, Arthur shifted, drew out, paused, and then thrust in, drawing a shout from Merlin’s lips. He did it again. And again. Merlin began to squirm, one hand moving toward his rigid cock as the other clenched the sheets tightly, but Arthur pushed his questing fingers away, stroking Merlin’s cock with his own hand. A fine sheen of sweat covered Merlin’s body as he shuddered in Arthur’s arms. Arthur kept pumping, his mouth pressing kisses to Merlin’s neck, tasting the salt of his sweat. His pace quickened, hips snapping, skin slapping against skin. Arthur grunted with effort, feeling his climax nearing, hearing Merlin’s cries as his body jerked, warm spunk spilling out of him and onto Arthur’s hand as Merlin’s insides clutched at his cock like a suckling mouth. As Merlin slowly relaxed, Arthur continued to slip in and out of Merlin’s slick haven, Arthur’s balls tightening against him as he reached the crest, his insides blossoming, his back arching as he shoved his cock as deeply into Merlin as he could, his arm around Merlin’s waist, pinning him to him.

Slowly Arthur descended from his high, his body drawing him into a recuperative sleep. Arthur felt Merlin turn and press kisses to his mouth, felt Merlin hold him gently in his arms.

But when he awoke the next morning, Merlin had gone and a note was in his place.

_Dear Arthur,_

_I meant it when I said I release you from our contract. I’ve left instructions with my lawyer to draw up the necessary papers and send them to you. I am leaving the country very soon to be with my sick friend. I want to tell you how sorry I am, but words will never be enough, Arthur, to cleanse myself of the guilt and regret I feel concerning you._

_I know that a part of you has enjoyed what we did together. I hope you never feel regret, anger, or worst of all, shame about that. I, however, should and do feel shame at having taken advantage of someone who is as sweet and gentle a person as you are, Arthur. I hope that you go on to be happy in life and find someone who will love you body and soul as you deserve to be loved. I also hope you will get as far away from your father as possible. I take full blame for all that happened, but it was very wrong of him to allow you to make that sacrifice for him. The man does not have your best interests at heart._

_Thank you for what you gave me last night. It was beautiful, and I will take the memory with me. You are an extraordinary lover and someone special will be very lucky to find you one day. I have a lot of healing to do, and it’s because of me that you do, too. I hope that once you distance yourself enough from me to see the evil I have done to you, you will one day forgive me._

_Sincerely,_

_Merlin ._


	12. Five Years Later

**_Five Years Later_ **

Most of the time, Arthur didn’t mind London in the winter, no matter how cold. However, when Christmas rolled around, and shops were gaily decorated (and not in the sense of the word Arthur would prefer), and everyone was cheerful and in love, Arthur hated it. He had no one.

He’d cut ties with his father long ago, after realizing Merlin wasn’t going to return to his flat and Arthur had to leave. Arthur had withdrawn all of his money from his savings account that his mother had set up for him when he was born, which included the considerable amount of money she’d left him, and found a place of his own. It had taken the arrival of the voided contract from Merlin’s lawyer to clue Uther in to the fact that his son was no longer with Merlin, and a terrible row had followed after Uther tracked Arthur down and demanded he come back home and work for the company.

That’s when Arthur had let him have it—all his pent up rage about Uther signing him away in order to firm up a deal, and the fact that Uther had no problem selling Arthur to a man, but when it came to the fact that Arthur _liked_ it, Uther couldn’t deal. Then Arthur let his father know just how disgusted he was with the fact that his father fucked young girls. Uther had disowned Arthur, but Arthur didn’t care. He didn’t want anything to do with him.

Most of Arthur’s nights after that were spent thinking of Merlin, dreaming of Merlin, and wondering when Merlin would return to London. A trip to his flat revealed that Merlin had had someone pack everything up for him and ship it somewhere. Arthur was unable to find out where, even when he finally tracked down Percy and interrogated him. Every lead he got led to a dead end until Arthur finally had to give up.

He got a job at a publishing house, working his way up from the mail room to the board room. He worked long days and late nights, rarely taking time to go on the pull, but when he did, it was always with some faceless stranger he picked up at a club.

And Merlin’s face always remained in his mind.

Arthur had gradually gone from a one-room flat in a questionable part of town to a spacious two bedroom flat in a very nice area of the city. When he returned there on the Christmas Eve of his twenty-fourth year, he found a postcard from Bermuda from Morgana and Leon that featured surfers wearing Santa hats. He taped it over the sink where he could see it when he did the dishes.

He watered his plants, talking to them as he always did, and ate some soup. It made him think of Scrooge and his bowl of gruel. _You’re hopeless, Pendragon,_ he told himself.

Arthur still kept in touch with Lance, but rarely saw him since his friend had gotten married to a very nice girl named Gwen. He thought about calling and wishing them a Merry Christmas, but he thought they’d probably be with family, and he didn’t want to intrude. Glancing at his refrigerator, Arthur saw that he had an appointment with his therapist on the second of January. Of all the people he knew, Dr. Kay was probably the closet person to him. He’d been seeing the man for five years now, and although Arthur had worked through all of his daddy issues and Merlin issues and sexuality issues, he continued to see the doctor because Dr. Kay was such a fixture in his life.

Steve Kay was a fairly young man, only about a decade older than Arthur, and quite attractive with his café au lait complexion and dark hair and eyes. He’d expressed interest in Arthur several times, telling him that if they were to start seeing one another, he would refer Arthur to another doctor. But Arthur didn’t want a relationship with anyone. He still wanted Merlin. Dr. Kay told him again and again that hanging onto Merlin wasn’t healthy for Arthur, even if he no longer thought of him as the symbol of his sexual revolution. Arthur carefully explained to him, again and again, that he loved Merlin and that was that.

Steve pointed out that Arthur hadn’t really known Merlin, but Arthur told him he didn’t understand. He did know Merlin. There was just something between them.

But how much longer could he wait for him? When did waiting for love turn into wasting time on a pathetic dream?

Arthur’s phone buzzed, and he picked it up off the table, wondering who would be calling him on Christmas Eve.

“I should have known it was you,” he said when he answered. “You’re the only person it could be.”

“Merry Christmas to you, too, Arthur,” Steve Kay said jovially. “What are you doing?”

“Well, I just finished up my bowl of gruel, and now I’m waiting for Marley’s Ghost to come crashing in with his chains and money boxes.”

Steve laughed. “Well, how about coming out with me instead? I’m in the mood for a drink.”

“Where in the world can you get a drink on Christmas Eve?” Arthur asked.

“Just so happens, there’s a pub that always stays open on Christmas Eve, and it serves some of the best nog this side of the Cratchits’.”

“The Cratchits were poor. How good could their nog possibly have been?” Arthur asked.

 “I’ll be there in five,” Steve answered.

“Five minutes? Where are you?”

“Around the corner.”

“Oh, all right,” Arthur sighed. “I’ll meet you downstairs.”

Arthur wrapped his red scarf (okay, it was actually Merlin’s red scarf that Arthur had taken with him when he’d left) around his neck and put on his pea coat. He drew on his gloves as he clamored down the stairs. When he exited the building, he ran right into Steve, who was coming in.

“Whoa, there,” Steve steadied him. “Hey, we’re standing under the mistletoe.”

“No, we’re not,” Arthur laughed.

“Well, you can’t blame a bloke for trying, now, can you?”

They began walking, and Steve told Arthur about how he’d left his families’ festivities early when his sister and mother had started bickering about the same thing they always bickered about on Christmas—whose fruit cake was the best.

“Whose is the best?” Arthur asked, and Steve laughed. “They’re both pants, if you want to know the truth. So I left them fighting and Dad snoring on the couch and decided to call you.”

“Your pathetic patient-slash-friend whom you knew would be sitting at home alone on Christmas Eve.”

“Only because he wants it that way,” Steve pointed out. They’d reached the pub, and Steve held the door open for him. “I swear, it’s the only pub in London open. All the lonely people in the city congregate here tonight.”

“Sounds a bit depressing,” Arthur said as they walked in.

The bar was warm and inviting, with a sprinkling of people drinking and making merry. A fire burned in a fire place and a variety of Christmas songs played over the speakers. Arthur had to admit that it was better than sitting at home by himself. Steve led Arthur over to a corner table, pulling out a chair for him before going to the bar to get their drinks.

The song _All I Want for Christmas Is You_ began to play, and Arthur sighed, removing his jacket and leaning back in the booth. Every year this song made him think about Merlin. Perhaps he was crazy to spend all these years mooning over a man he wasn’t likely to ever see again. Maybe he was foolish to believe in true love and the hope that, in spite of the way they got together, there was still a chance for them. Obviously, Merlin couldn’t still be taking care of his sick friend, and yet he had never tried to find Arthur, whose name was listed in the phone book for anyone to find.

Steve returned with their drinks, sliding into the booth beside Arthur.

“A penny for your thoughts,” he said, taking a sip from his mug.

“Um, well, I was just wondering if maybe I’m a fool.”

Steve raised a dark brow. “For coming out with me?”

“No, silly,” Arthur nudged him with his shoulder. “For waiting for Merlin all this time.”

“Perhaps you’re just an incurable romantic,” Steve suggested. “I’m a bit of one myself.”

“You are?” Arthur looked at him, surprised.

“Sure. That’s why I keep hoping that this certain patient of mine will wake up one day and see me with new eyes.”

Arthur sighed. “Steve, I…”

“No, it’s okay. It’s possible that I’m just as silly as you are…waiting for you all this time.”

Arthur thought about it. Steve was a nice bloke, and he really liked Arthur. Arthur could get a new therapist and have a relationship with him. Or, perhaps, Arthur didn’t really need a therapist at all anymore. He thought about having a relationship with Steve. Going to bed with him at night and getting up with him in the morning. Talking. Laughing. Making love. What would that be like?

He’d have to put Merlin away—lock the memory of him up in a box and never open it again. It would only be fair. He’d have to give Steve his everything. Watching the older man drinking his beer beside him, Arthur wondered if he could do it. Could this be the first day of the rest of his life?

He opened his mouth to say something, reached out to touch the man next to him, when a sudden burst of cold air filled the room as the door to the pub opened. Arthur turned his head to look.

And there stood Merlin.


	13. Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I was going to end with this chapter, but I think I need to work through a few things. So there will be more.

God, it had been five years. Five whole, fucking years, and the sight of Merlin still did things to Arthur. His eyes swept over him. Merlin’s hair was a little longer, curling about his ears and the nape of his neck. His ear was pierced. He’d filled out a bit in the shoulders.

Other than that, he was exactly the same. His eyes large, blue, and expressive. His limbs long and his body angular. His wrists thin, smooth, and white. His hair sooty black, and his eyelashes long and dark against his alabaster skin. His lips—God, so perfect. Arthur stood so abruptly, he knocked over his beer. He was vaguely aware that Steve moved quickly to catch it, grabbing a bunch of napkins off a nearby table, but by that time Arthur was heading for Merlin, zeroing in like a missile on the back of his head where he sat at the bar.

“Can I buy you a drink?” Arthur asked before he had the time to get too nervous to speak. Merlin’s body stiffened, and he slowly turned around.

“Arthur?” Merlin whispered in disbelief, looking up at him. Arthur watched Merlin’s eyes trail over him, cataloguing how much Arthur had changed from his nineteen-year-old self. Arthur knew he was a bit taller, that his shoulders were broader and his body in mint condition. He knew he had to look older.

“Wow,” Merlin said. “I can’t believe it. I—never thought I’d see you again.

“I think perhaps you never wanted to, or you would have by now.” Arthur took a seat at the bar, his leg brushing Merlin’s, trying to ignore the jolt of electric desire that passed through him at the casual touch.

Merlin swallowed and reached for his beer. “It was for the best. What are you doing here on Christmas Eve?”

“Having drinks with a friend.” For the first time since Merlin walked in, Arthur thought about what Steve must be thinking. He turned and looked back at their table. It was empty. His eyes moved about the room, but he didn’t see Steve anywhere. “I think he’s left me,” Arthur said.

“Why would he do that?” Merlin asked.

“Nevermind.” Arthur knew why, of course. Far be it from Steve to stand in his way. He felt badly about it, but there was no fucking way he wasn’t going to talk to Merlin when he walked back into his life after five long years.

“Where have you been all this time?” Arthur asked Merlin, motioning the bartender for a beer.

“I’ve been in the states up until last June. Then I spent some time in Cardiff. I’ve been in London a month.”

“And you never thought to look me up?” The knowledge hurt Arthur. All this time, and he’d never forgotten Merlin, but Merlin had forgotten him.

“I thought about it,” Merlin admitted before caving. “Okay, I did it. I found you in the phone book, but I was never going to call you.”

“Why?” Arthur asked. He knew he sounded vulnerable, but he couldn’t help it. Merlin looked him directly in the eyes.

“Because of that. That right there,” Merlin said.

“What?” Arthur didn’t know what Merlin was talking about.

“The way you sound. You walked over here a grown man. Confident and just the way you should be. Then you talk to me for five minutes, and you’re a fucking boy again. I messed you up, Arthur. Haven’t you been able to see that by now?”

Arthur pressed his lips together, taking in the earnest look on Merlin’s face. “Sure, I can see it. I’ve spent five years in therapy seeing it,” he said cuttingly.

Merlin winced as though Arthur had punched him. “Good,” he said hoarsely. “I’m glad you got some help.”

“Don’t flatter yourself thinking you were the only reason I was in therapy. There was also my father selling me for a business deal, and the fact that he was fucking my friends. I found out that Mithian wasn’t the only one. There was also Sophia and Vivian.”

“I’m sorry, Arthur,” Merlin told him. “Being with me couldn’t have helped your situation.”

 _Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas_ began to play on the sound system. It was a song that always made Arthur sad.

He sighed. “I don’t think you understand, Merlin. I’m gay. I’ve always been gay, but when I met you I was in denial about it, or at the very least unable to show it. Maybe if I hadn’t been so fucking attracted to you, what you did would’ve been more devastating to me. Maybe if I hadn’t been such a spoiled rich kid it wouldn’t have gotten me off having you dominate me the way it did. I don’t know. What I do know is I’ve never stopped thinking about you, and that most of my therapy where you are concerned had to do with trying to get over _you_ , not anything you did to me or with me. Besides that, you always gave me an out when you played your games.”

Merlin’s face remained tight and controlled while Arthur spoke. He finished his beer.

“Don’t you think you owe it to me to talk this out? Arthur tried, afraid Merlin would get up and leave. “Come back to mine, and we’ll talk.”

The muscle in Merlin’s jaw worked, his expression masked. Finally, he answered so low Arthur had to lean forward to hear, “All right.”

Back at Arthur’s flat, Arthur hung up their coats while Merlin looked around. They hadn’t spoken after they’d left the bar except for once when Merlin turned to Arthur and said, “Is that my scarf?”

Arthur had told him that it was, and that he had nabbed it from Merlin’s flat. Merlin hadn’t seemed to mind.

“This is a nice place, the publishing firm must pay you well.” Merlin said before flinching, realizing he’d given himself away.

“So you’ve checked up on me, have you?” Arthur smiled. He indicated for Merlin to sit down on the couch. For a long time, every time Arthur had looked at a leather couch, a dining room table, a bed… he’d thought of Merlin fucking him. All he’d have to do was pass a furniture store and he’d have an instant hard-on. He told Merlin this, and Merlin’s face colored.

“That whole contract—it was all about getting back at an entire class of people that I believed had wronged me. It wasn’t about you at all, Arthur. I took advantage of a young boy.”

“I was of age, Merlin,” Arthur pointed out, reaching over and touching Merlin’s arm. “Listen, I’m not saying that it was right. I’m just saying that it didn’t hurt me like you seem to think it did. What hurt me was that I fell in love with you and then you left.”

Merlin shook his head. “You might have thought you were in love with me, but it was the dominance and submission…”

“Don’t patronize me!” Arthur said sharply, and Merlin’s eyes jerked to meet his.

Arthur pointed a finger at him. “I’m twenty-five fucking years old, and I know when I’m in love. My feelings for you haven’t changed.” He gentled his voice and lowered his hand. “What I want to know—what you _owe_ me—is an explanation of what you felt for me then, and what you feel for me now. An honest one. Don’t worry,” Arthur prompted when Merlin didn’t immediately speak, “I’m a big boy. I won’t break.”

Arthur wasn’t too sure of that. Now that he had Merlin there with him, all he wanted to do was touch him, kiss him, talk to him—preferably in bed and after a good fucking. If Merlin told him he didn’t care for him and never did, Arthur knew he would most certainly fall apart. But that would be after Merlin left.

Merlin’s breathing came a bit unsteadily, Arthur noticed. Arthur still had his hand on the other man’s arm, and he squeezed it.

“At first, I think I hated you,” Merlin began. “You reminded me so much of a boy who had hurt me back at school—lied to me, said that he loved me, and then humiliated me in front of everyone.”

“Jonathan,” Arthur said.

Merlin’s gaze jerked to his. “Yes. Jonathan. How did you know?”

“You said his name that night you had a nightmare,” Arthur said simply.

“And you remembered that? After all this time?”

Arthur nodded. “Go on. You hated me.”

Merlin nodded. “I thought I did, yeah.  But soon I admired you—for the way you handled yourself when I tried to humiliate you.” He put his hands to his face. “God, Arthur, it was all so unfair to you.”

“And after that?” Arthur asked softly. “How did you feel?”

Merlin’s hands fell away. His face was wet. “What do you want me to say?” he asked harshly. “That I loved you? I did—or I was starting to. I’d already decided that I had to get away before I hurt you more, and then Will got sick and asked me to go with him.”

“What happened?” Arthur asked. “With Will?”

Merlin swallowed. “He had a long and painful treatment…it bought him some years. He died last June, just before I went to Cardiff.”

“I’m sorry,” Arthur told him, meaning it.

“I thought maybe I deserved that pain. That I still deserve to suffer.”

“My God, Merlin, you didn’t scar me, so will you get over yourself, please?” Arthur shouted. Merlin was so stunned, he stared blankly at him for some moments.

“There’s only one thing you can do to make up to me for what you’ve done,” Arthur said severely.

Merlin blinked. “And what’s that?”

“You can stay with me. Tonight.” _Forever._ But Arthur didn’t say that out loud.

“Arthur…” Merlin shook his head, making to stand, but Arthur got down on his knees in front of him and took his hands in his. “Merlin. Stay. Please, you…you owe me this. I’ve waited so long, please.” He surged forward then and kissed Merlin, whispering “please” again against his lips.

At first Merlin didn’t respond, held himself back as Arthur traced his lips with his tongue. Arthur’s hands moved from Merlin’s hair down to his shoulders, squeezing them as he kissed him again and again. Then Merlin began kissing him back, and Arthur groaned, pulling him closer as their mouths melded together, tongues touching, mingling. Merlin slid to his knees and knelt in front of Arthur, who practically bent him backward in an endeavor to devour Merlin whole. He felt Merlin’s heart beating fast against his chest, his cock hardening against his thigh, and Arthur lost control completely.

Struggling to stand, he pulled Merlin up with him, kissing him again and again before nudging him back toward Arthur’s bedroom.

All the way there, Arthur kissed and unbuttoned, kissed and unzipped, until Merlin’s clothes were hanging off him as Arthur pushed him down on the bed. His mind was fogged, his body on high alert, all nerve endings reaching for Merlin, the man Arthur had waited for.

Merlin lay breathing hard, watching as Arthur divested him of his shoes and socks before pulling his underwear and trousers off his legs. “Arthur…” he breathed as he struggled out of the sleeves of his shirt and watched Arthur pull his own shirt over his head. Arthur stared down at him, his fingers shaking as he undid his pants and pulled them down and off, then reached down to rid himself of shoes and socks. Merlin sat up, leaned his forehead against Arthur’s lean abdomen, his breath hot on Arthur’s skin. Arthur felt Merlin’s fingers hook into his briefs, sliding them down and over his erect cock. Throwing his head back, he closed his eyes, enjoying the feel of Merlin’s lips in the thatch of hair above his penis. A gasp brought Arthur’s head back up. He looked down to see Merlin staring, mouth open. Reaching out a shaking finger, Merlin touched the small, diamond M on Arthur’s scrotum.

“You—you still have it,” Merlin breathed.

“Yeah,” Arthur said huskily. “I’ve never taken it out. Never wanted to.”

Merlin raised his eyes to Arthur’s, and slowly, Arthur reached down and guided his cock to Merlin’s mouth, brushing the tip of it against his lips.  Merlin opened up, taking it in, his tongue swirling beneath it, making Arthur groan loudly. Merlin sucked gently on the head, his hands sliding up the backs of Arthur’s legs. Arthur groaned again, and Merlin opened his mouth wider, taking more of him in. He began to bob his head, sucking, pleasuring Arthur beyond all endurance. When Arthur thought he couldn’t possibly get any harder and felt his balls pulling up against him, Merlin removed his mouth and pressed a delicate kiss to the M beneath Arthur’s cock. He looked up at Arthur and then slowly turned, offering his backside to him. “I’m still clean, Arthur. I’ve…there’s been no one since you.”

Arthur’s breathing quickened. In five years Merlin hadn’t been with another man? Was it possible?

“I swear it’s true.”

“I’m clean, too,” Arthur replied, fumbling in his bedside drawer for the bottle of lube. “I was tested last month, but I’ve always been careful anyway.”

Merlin nodded, and Arthur covered his fingers with the lubricant. He knelt down, but before touching Merlin with his fingers, he pressed a kiss to first one cheek and then the other, feeling Merlin tremble as he did so. Arthur nipped just beneath the curve of Merlin’s ass, and then touched his dangling scrotum with his tongue. Merlin groaned, and Arthur licked his way up Merlin’s crack to his hole, dancing his tongue along it until Merlin cried out. Emboldened, Arthur grabbed Merlin’s cheeks, spreading them wide as he licked and nibbled at Merlin’s anus, tormenting him until his legs trembled.

“Please, Arthur!” Merlin gasped, and Arthur got to his feet, sliding a wet finger inside of Merlin and then adding another.

Arthur couldn’t wait any longer. The sight of Merlin’s bare arse being offered to him and the sound of Merlin’s lust-ridden keening was just too much. Guiding himself, Arthur plunged into Merlin, grasping at the man’s hips as he thrust in and pulled out.

“Holy _shit_ , Arthur!” Merlin yelled, pushing back against him. Arthur drove into him again, pushing Merlin’s face into the mattress and his knees against the bed. “Ahh…fuck, you feel so good,” Merlin gasped into the duvet. Arthur moved out and then in again, hard, angling himself until Merlin hitched his breath. “Harder, Arthur!” Merlin demanded, his face red and straining. Arthur pumped in again, full force, out then in, out then in, his cock a granite arrow hitting its mark every time with precision. “Oh, shit…fuck. Yes, harder! Fuck me,” Merlin sobbed, and Arthur obliged, feeling somehow that Merlin needed it rough and fast. That it was cathartic somehow. He pistoned his hips, pushing in and pulling out, harder and faster and harder until Merlin shook and cried out hoarsely, spilling his ejaculate onto the bed. Arthur threw his head back and let go, three more thrusts, and then he shot everything into Merlin, waiting it out until he was positive all of his cum was safely inside him.

When they fell upon the bed, Arthur moved to pull Merlin close to him. He kissed his sweaty face over and over again, telling him he loved him, that next time it would be tender and sweet, that he couldn’t wait to feel Merlin inside of him again.

They slept.

 ***

When Arthur awoke, Merlin was gone.

He jumped out of bed, running to the front door. That’s when he felt a presence, turned, and spotted Merlin in the living room, a book on his lap.

“Running out naked?” Merlin asked. “What will the neighbors think?”

“I—I thought you’d left me. Again.” Arthur took a hesitant step forward.

Merlin put the book down and stood. He wore a pair of Arthur’s pyjama pants and looked rested and…happy.

“Merry Christmas,” Merlin said, pulling Arthur into his arms. He kissed his neck.

Arthur raised trembling arms to embrace Merlin. “Merry Christmas,” he replied, hardly believing it was true. Merlin led Arthur to the couch, wrapping him up in the red throw Arthur kept there.

“Merlin, don’t leave,” Arthur said in a small voice.

“I won’t if you don’t want me to,” Merlin told him.

“I don’t. I never want you to go,” Arthur told him, snuggling into his arms.


	14. Adjusting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the final chapter, folks. Thanks for sticking with me!

 

Merlin and Arthur had coffee together, sitting on the couch and watching a marathon of Christmas movies. Merlin told Arthur he’d been living at a hotel for the past few months while he perfected his newest game called _Warlock._ It was an off-shoot of _Wizard_ but with more graphics anda bunch of technical stuff Arthur didn’t understand.

“Good. Move in with me,” Arthur told him. Merlin tilted Arthur’s chin up from where it lay against Merlin’s chest so he could see his face.

“Don’t go too fast, Arthur. Give this some time.”

Arthur pushed up on the arm of the sofa with his feet until their lips met. “Don’t need time. All I’ve had is time for the past five years.”

***

Two days later, Arthur answered the door dripping wet from the shower.

“I’ve been trying to call you, Arthur!” Steve pushed his way inside the flat. “You haven’t answered, and I was getting worried!”

“I’m fine, Steve,” Arthur pulled the towel more firmly around his waist, but from Steve’s expression, he could tell that the adjustment only made the outline of his cock more visible. It didn’t help that he was half-hard from what Merlin had been doing to him in the shower.

“Like hell, you’re fine! That man walks back into your life and suddenly you’re a fucking hermit!”

“How did you even know that was Merlin in the pub?” Arthur asked, brow furrowed. He was making a puddle on the floor. “And I didn’t ask you to disappear!”

“Who else would turn you into a zombie like that? Plus you’ve described him enough to me—‘jet black hair, cheekbones to die for, lips like pillows!’” Steve made a face. “I didn’t want to stick around and be the third wheel. Frankly, I’m surprised you even gave me a thought.”

“Well, I’m fine, so you can stop worrying, Dr. Kay.”

“Oh, I’m Dr. Kay now, am I?” Steve crossed him arms. “I had the feeling we were on our way to starting something on Christmas Eve before _he_ showed up.”

Arthur shifted uncomfortably. “Steve, you of all people know how I feel about Merlin. And now he’s back!”

“You’ve never even given any other men a try, Arthur. You’ve had short, fumbled sex with a few and that’s it. No relationships. I don’t like seeing this man come back into your life and get a hold on you again.”

“Is that my concerned therapist talking, or my jealous friend?” Arthur asked, eyes narrowing.

“It’s both,” Steve told him.

“Steve, you were right that I was about to give in that night in the pub. I thought I might be able to have something with you. But I never would’ve forgotten Merlin, and that would’ve been incredibly unfair to you.”

Steve touched Arthur’s cheek. “It would’ve been nice to find out,” he said softly.

The sound of a throat clearing made both men turn to find Merlin standing in the hallway. His hair was damp, but he was dressed.

“I’m going to go put some clothes on,” Arthur said. “Merlin, this is Dr. Stephen Kay, my therapist. I’ll be back shortly.”

“What makes me think you’re more than a therapist to him?” Merlin asked after Arthur had disappeared into the bedroom.

“We’re friends, and I’d like to be even more than that,” Steve replied frankly, “but his memories of you have always stood in my way.”

Merlin looked down at his bare feet. “I tried to stay away. Even when I came back to London, I didn’t contact him.”

Steve made a noise of derision, and Merlin’s head snapped up. “You think I’m a monster.” His eyes clouded. “How is he? Tell me the truth.”

Steve considered Merlin for a long time before sighing. “He’s fine. Surprisingly emotionally healthy for all he’s been through, except he’s closed himself off from any man except for you. I thought I was making some headway with him, _finally_ , and then here you are.”

“You mean you thought you’d gotten him to agree to date you,” Merlin clarified. “Let’s be frank here, _Dr_. You may be Arthur’s therapist, but that doesn’t give you the right to personally take on the role of his lover in order to _heal_ him.” Merlin crossed his arms over his chest.

“Touché,” Steve replied begrudgingly. “Perhaps I underestimated you.”

“Perhaps,” Merlin agreed. “I just want you to know that I’ve gone through plenty of therapy myself since I last saw Arthur, and I’ve come to terms with the reasons I did what I did. Arthur and I have some things to work out between us, and I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t interfere.”

Steve seemed to size Merlin up for several long minutes before he finally acquiesced. “Tell him I’ll give him a ring later,” he said before leaving the flat.

Merlin wilted a bit after the door shut behind the man. He was worn out emotionally from his reunion with Arthur and the intensity of their nights together. He’d gone all this time, trying to forget about the blond, telling himself it was all for the best and by all rights, Arthur probably hated him. And then to run straight into him at the pub on Christmas Eve…Merlin had been gobsmacked.

And being with Arthur again was so much _more_ than Merlin remembered. The boy had grown up, and the man was extraordinary. He could almost believe Arthur when he said that Merlin hadn’t damaged him by what he had done. And Merlin really wanted to believe that.

Arthur came out of the bedroom, toweling off his hair. “Where’s Steve?” he asked.

“He left. Said he’d ring you,” Merlin told him.

“Oh,” Arthur shrugged.

“So this guy’s been your therapist all this time?”

“Yep. He’s heard it all and then some,” Arthur replied.

“He must really care about you. Hearing all your hang ups and still wanting to date you.”

Arthur looked surprised. “Well, yeah, I guess so. But Steve’s always known where I stood. That I wanted you.”

“What if I never came back, Arthur? How long were you prepared to wait?”

Arthur looked down. “I don’t know.”

Merlin sat down at the kitchen table. “Who have you been with since I left? I know you haven’t been celibate like me.”

Arthur scratched the back of his neck. “I’ve been with a few men. Just one-nighters, and I’ve always used a condom.”

“I’m not questioning that you’ve had safe sex. Haven’t you had a relationship at all? I’d hoped you’d move on.”

Arthur looked annoyed. “I told you, Merlin, I was waiting for you!”

“But…”

“I know, I know, you might never have come back. I guess at some point I would’ve moved on. But I wasn’t ready yet, and you did come back, so can we drop this, please?”

“Okay,” Merlin sighed. “We’ll drop it.”

***

A month later Merlin moved into Arthur’s flat. _Warlock_ was a huge success, and Merlin finally lost some of his trepidation about having a relationship with Arthur. Arthur truly seemed to have his act together. It seemed he’d been overworking for years, but with Merlin in his life, he cut back on his hours. Merlin worked from home and did most of the cooking. They enjoyed going to the theater and had met several couples there that they enjoyed getting together with. Quiet nights at home were their favorite, however, and those were the times they really cherished.

If there was any part of their relationship that wasn’t quite in tune, it was, surprisingly, their sex life. For Arthur still longed to be the submissive, and Merlin shied away from it.

“I can’t do it, Arthur,” Merlin told him one night when they’d been together three months and Arthur had become irritated at Merlin’s refusal to top.

“Merlin, it’s one thing to drag out the whip and handcuffs, and quite another to agree to fuck me. You’re going to have to get over this, because I want your dick in my arse, and I want it right now!”

Merlin rolled out of their bed and stormed into the living room, clearly upset. Arthur followed, not bothering to get a robe. They stood facing one another.

“Arthur, I just can’t treat you like that again!”

“For God’s sake! I _liked_ it, you tosser! I still dream about some of the things you did to me. But that’s not what we’re talking about here. I want you to _top_ me.” He stepped forward, touching Merlin gently on the face. “I want to feel you inside me, Merlin. I want you to claim me. I want to know that you love me.”

“I do, Arthur. I do. So much.”

Arthur smiled and raised his brow.

Merlin let out a breath. “Okay. You win. As usual.”

“What a hardship,” Arthur said a few minutes later when Merlin was buried to the root inside of him.

“Shut up, wanker,” Merlin said tightly, beginning to move. They were soon lost in feeling. Arthur pulled Merlin down to kiss him roughly on the mouth.

“Harder,” he whispered, and Merlin’s hips stuttered before he sped up.

“I still hope you’ll make me wear a butt plug out to dinner some night,” Arthur wheezed as Merlin’s hand gripped him, and his climax surged over him.

“Oh, _fuck_ , Arthur…” Merlin felt Arthur tightening around him and came with a jerk, holding tightly to Arthur’s legs.

“Or perhaps I’ll make you wear one, yeah?” Arthur kissed Merlin’s head as he settled down on top of him in the bed.

“We’ll both wear one,” Merlin compromised, and pulled up the duvet to cover them both.

 

END


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